Former Hearts chairman Leslie Deans is delighted to see James Anderson on the board at Tynecastle.
The Baillie Gifford investment supremo has gone from his anonymous benefactor status to someone with a seat at the table having ploughed millions into the club.
He also stepped up at the height of the covid crisis last year and donated no-string-attached sums to all 42 SPFL clubs after being introduced through Ann Budge. Glasgow City's costs relating to a Women's Champions League game were also taken care of.
Deans, a lawyer who served as chairman between 1994 and 1999, reckons Anderson didn't start off a Hearts fan.
But he believes there's no doubt he's acquired a love for all things Gorgie and insists his business acumen will be invaluable to the club after being appointed last month.
"I’m delighted and I welcome him with open arms," he told the Edinburgh Evening News. "James Anderson has had a major effect on Hearts as a benefactor.
"Without his input, a number of things wouldn’t have taken place at the club.
"Somebody with his knowledge and experience joining the board will undoubtedly strengthen it for the future.
"The challenges the club face going forward are as strong as ever so I’m really happy seeing him on board. I have dealt with his company but I don’t know him on a personal basis.
"Somebody with his track record, which is first-class, brings so much experience. Allied to that, he is still relatively young.
"The fact he has now accepted the invitation to join the board is a clear demonstration of his ongoing commitment to Hearts.
"He clearly didn’t see it as something he would do once and then step back from. He clearly sees his involvement as an ongoing thing and I think it’s something all Hearts people will welcome greatly.
"I think he’s become a Jambo like the rest of us. Some of us have it in the blood from an early age, some of us acquire it as we get a bit older.
"I think it has affected James like it affects thousands of others."
