Liverpool have announced that Ian Ayre will leave his post as chief executive at the end of this month.
Ayre was originally due to stand down from the Anfield hierarchy in May, following 10 years of service, to become 1860 Munich’s managing director.
But the Kirkdale-born executive will now depart ahead of schedule as owners Fenway Sports Group continue restructuring the Reds’ senior management.
Billy Hogan has become the club’s new managing director, having previously held the post of chief commercial officer for the past five years.
Also promoted in the overhaul is Andy Hughes, who will now assume the role as Liverpool’s chief operating officer after serving as chief financial officer.
FSG president Mike Gordon has confirmed that Liverpool plan to unveil Ayre’s replacement as CEO this summer.
He said: “Although this transition has been nearly a year in the making, today is still a difficult day – we are officially saying goodbye to Ian.
“On behalf of John and Tom, I would like to place on record the outstanding contribution Ian has made to Liverpool Football Club over the past ten years.
“It goes without saying that his leadership of LFC has been instrumental to the club’s progress under our ownership.
“It is a measure of his character and his commitment to LFC that we have been able to collectively plan and execute such a gradual, natural transition.
“On both a professional and personal level, he will be missed.
“Over the past year, we made a number of changes to our management structure by promoting several of our top employees to more senior positions in recognition of their exceptional service to LFC.
“Though some of these changes are already public, today we are formally announcing the promotion of Billy Hogan to Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer, and Andy Hughes to Chief Operating Officer.
“The promotions are a reflection of their first-rate performance as executives and carry additions to their respective roles and responsibilities.
“These changes have already ushered in improvements to the club’s operations and they will also serve to ensure management stability during the transition to new executive leadership.
“The last step remaining is to conclude the process of identifying and hiring a successor to Ian.
“We are very pleased with the search progress and fully expect to have our new CEO in position by our original deadline of the summer 2017.
“We are quite confident that LFC will have the right structure and the best people operating within that structure to fill the lofty ambitions of LFC and its supporters.”