Pete Winkelman

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Pete Winkelman
Born (1957-11-09) 9 November 1957 (age 66)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Football club chairman, property developer

Peter John Winkelman is chairman of English association football club Milton Keynes Dons and managing director of Inter MK Ltd, a property development consortium. (Inter MK was responsible for developing the Denbigh North district of Milton Keynes.[2])

Early career[edit]

His earlier career was in pop music production, as a CBS executive.[3]

Involvement in football[edit]

Winkelman grew up as a supporter of his home town club, Wolverhampton Wanderers before his eventual involvement with Wimbledon and ultimately Milton Keynes Dons.[4]

He is most notable for his involvement in the controversial decision in 2001 by the directors of Wimbledon FC to relocate to Milton Keynes, around 60 miles from their original south London base.[5] The club, which subsequently went into administration in 2003,[6] played their first match in Milton Keynes in September, controlled by the administrator.[7] At the end of the season, the club was bought out by a consortium led by Winkelman, who became the club's chairman.[8] The new board relaunched the club as Milton Keynes Dons FC, also giving the side a new all-white strip and club crest.[9]

Personal life[edit]

He is married to wife Berni.[10] Winkelman moved to Milton Keynes in 1993,[11] and established Great Linford Manor, a seventeenth-century mansion converted into a recording studio complex in Great Linford, a district in Milton Keynes.[3]

Honours[edit]

In June 2013, Winkelman was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Milton Keynes-based Open University "to mark his contribution to education through the world of professional football".[12] On 12 November 2015, Milton Keynes Council awarded him the council's highest ceremonial honour, the Freedom of the Borough of Milton Keynes.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "MK Dons Pete Winkelman supremo wants Wolves in Championship too". www.expressandstar.com. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2022. Multi-millionaire Winkelman, who hails from Penn...
  2. ^ "New stadium underpins soccer strategy" (PDF). SteelConstruction.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007.
  3. ^ a b From Wimbledon to Winkelman, a crazy new journey - The Observer Sunday 30 March 2008
  4. ^ "MK Dons Pete Winkelman supremo wants Wolves in Championship too". www.expressandstar.com. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ^ Conn, David (27 November 2012). "Peter Winkelman: 'I'm not proud of how football came to Milton Keynes'". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "Wimbledon go into administration". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group. 6 June 2003. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  7. ^ Pryce, Robert (29 September 2003). "Wimbledon's happy ending is pure Hollywood". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  8. ^ "Wimbledon to change name". BBC. 21 June 2004. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  9. ^ "Wimbledon become MK Dons FC". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. 21 June 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  10. ^ "Pete Winkelman speaks to Pulse Magazine". Pulse Magazine. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Pete Winkelman". SEMLEP. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  12. ^ MK Dons chairman receives Honorary Doctorate from The Open University The Open University June 6th, 2013.
  13. ^ VIDEO: Pete Winkelman - ‘the man who made MK a world-renowned name’ - given Freedom of the Borough Milton Keynes Citizen, 12 November 2015