Portsmouth boardroom explained: Michael Eisner and Pompey’s saviour
Portsmouth’s hierarchy has overseen plenty of ups and downs over the years.
Despite being stuck in League One for years, The Tornante Company finally oversaw Pompey’s promotion to the Championship in 2024.
Now, after a successful start to the new campaign, Portsmouth are even considered outsiders for Premier League promotion.
However, despite the recent successes, many inside the boardroom are not free from criticism at Pompey, especially when the going gets tough.
As a result, Pompey News has highlighted everything you need to know about Portsmouth’s board members.
Michael Eisner – Chairman of Portsmouth
Michael Eisner has been involved with Portsmouth since 2017, with the businessman being heavily involved of the takeover at the South Coast club.
Previously, the 83-year-old had been the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, where he oversaw major successes at the global brand.
Now, chairman at Portsmouth, Eisner has held this position since the takeover was completed, overseeing further success at the South Coast club.
Coming in after Pompey’s promotion to League One, his reign at Fratton Park has seen many ups and downs.
- Michael Eisner took over Portsmouth in 2017
- He has since held Pompey to promotion to the Championship
- His appointment of John Mousinho has been one of his major successes
After stagnating in the third tier for years, his appointment of John Mousinho at Portsmouth appears to be a masterstroke, with the manager guiding Pompey to the Championship.
While the chairman has been criticised for his lack of spending, given the current troubles of many EFL clubs, Eisner’s caution in the market at Portsmouth has been praised by many.
Eisner has also invested heavily in Fratton Park which has helped improve the facilities at the stadium.
While there have been plenty of ups and downs, as it stands, his reign has been a success.
Mark Catlin -Saviour of Pompey
Part of the group that helped save Portsmouth in 2012, Mark Catlin is obviously held in very high regard around the South Coast club.
Here, the businessman volunteered to help guide Pompey out of trouble, which led to the eventual survival of the club and a supporter-led takeover in 2013.
This led to Catlin becoming CEO of Portsmouth, a position he held until 2021.
During this time, he oversaw their return to the third-tier by lifting the League Two title and ridding the South Coast club of substantial legacy debt.
He was also a key figure in The Tornante Company’s takeover of Portsmouth in 2017.
While he is no longer the CEO of Pompey, Catlin remains a member of the board to this day.
Amazing club, amazing history, amazing fans 💙 https://t.co/v6T3r3nXRY
— Mark Catlin (@MarkCatlin65) April 5, 2023
Other board members at Portsmouth
Breck Eisner, Eric Eisner and Anders Eisner are Portsmouth’s other board members, all being Michael’s sons.
Each were appointed upon the completion of the takeover in August 2017 and are less prominent figures than Michael Eisner and Catlin.
The most outspoken is no doubt Eric Eisner, who is known to send Portsmouth messages via X.
Many of these have been to encourage, or to simply congratulate Pompey on a good result.
However, while little is heard from Breck and Anders, just like their brother, father and Catlin, they are likely crucial to making decision at Portsmouth.
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