John Bowler

Who is John Bowler?

John Bowler is the current chairman of Crewe Alexandra Football Club, who currently play in the third tier of the English league.

Having joined the board in 1980, he has been chairman at Crewe Alexandra since 1987. Prior to joining Crewe, he was a marketing director at pharmaceutical company Wellcome.

What he brings is not the braggadocio of the self-made wheeler-dealers but the calm experience of somebody who has actually been involving in running a large, successful organisation.

In March 2014, Bowler was honoured with the Contribution to League Football Award at The Football League Awards 2014. His time at Crewe coincided with the appointment and long tenure of manager Dario Gradi and has been the most successful period in its history. The club has won promotion five times and in 2013 won the Football League Trophy Trophy. It has also become renowned for its youth development strategy, generating more than £32m of income through player sales.