Ipswich Town owner Brett Johnson has claimed he's always had Mark Ashton in mind to take over as CEO at one of his clubs, since first meeting the 49-year-old at a USL (United Soccer League) board meeting in America.
Ashton will end his five-year association with Bristol City at the end of May when he swaps Ashton Gate for Portman Road and assume the same role for the League One club following the American-led takeover of the Tractor Boys earlier this month.
Johnson is part of a group of investors who have paid £40m for Ipswich with designs on leading them back into the Premier League with Ashton installed as CEO and his mentor at Oxford and former business partner, Mike O'Leary, as chairman.
Speaking to the Price of Football podcast, Johnson, who is also co-chairman of USL Championship side Phoenix Rising in the States, is "thrilled" to have the 2019 Championship CEO of the Year on board as he plots Ipswich's rise up the divisions.
City have forged close links with the USL over the years with Ashton attending and presenting at the league's winter summit in December 2018, while the club's pre-season tour of Florida in 2019 was a mechanism to strengthen that partnership.
"As an American who, along with my American partners, has tasted some success in North America, I think the greatest sin would be to think that somehow our success could translate to England," Johnson said.
"England is where smart money goes to die, if you don't get someone, who I would describe as "English", to really steer the ship.
"I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Ashton several years ago at a USL board meeting and was beyond impressed with the pragmatic, disciplined approach that he takes, on and off the pitch and that impressed me as as I thought to myself, certainly if I ever have the opportunity to invest or own any asset in that fine country, I wanted someone like Ashton in the tent and on the team."
Last week, Ipswich manager Paul Cook declared that Bristol City are the model for which Ipswich can follow once Ashton takes his new position from June 1.
Ashton's imminent departure from BS3 has been met with celebration from City fans due to the almost pantomime villain-type role he has become following the appointment of Dean Holden last summer, and questions surrounding his success in the transfer market as head of the recruitment operation.
The former Oxford United executive has garnered a reputation as an excellent seller of players with City receiving sizeable profits and maximising value in the sales of Bobby Reid, Adam Webster, Lloyd Kelly and Josh Brownhill. Something that has clearly caught the eye of Johnson.
"I'm thrilled to have him and that accolade that he won in 2019 is appropriate," Johnson added. "His eye for signing talent and monetising it is very positive, because you don't want to find ways to find commercial success in addition to performance success and to strike the balance.
"We're going to be busy in this transfer window and hopefully bring in the talent and not stop that, at a minimum, this club is back in the Championship."
