However, when he was recruited as the new director of Allsport Management, David Campbell had been perceived as one of the main contenders to replace Bernie Ecclestone, as the F1 magnate had just celebrated his 80th birthday.<\/p>\n
His successes at the helm of the 02 Arena in London made him an ideal recruit for CVC Capital, which aimed to maximize the exploitation of sponsorships and hospitality areas in F1, the famous Paddock Club. Nevertheless, things did not go exactly as planned. The obvious reason is clearly the interaction with Bernie Ecclestone himself, who could not welcome this encroachment into his territory.<\/p>\n
A person from CVC Capital thus stated to The Independent that this departure was by mutual agreement between the two parties: \u00ab It didn’t really work out. Bernie wanted to take the business in another direction and that was not the basis on which we hired David. His departure was by mutual consent. \u00bb<\/p>\n
It would seem that CVC still cannot impose its views on the man who made F1 what it is today, which raises even more questions about who will effectively take over. According to Joe Saward, the most advanced candidate to succeed David Campbell is Australian Judith Griggs. She holds F1 shares and is currently responsible for operations at Allsport. She has solid F1 experience as she was the lawyer responsible for the first Adelaide Grand Prix, then CEO of the same event in Melbourne. Over the past twelve years, she worked alongside David Campbell’s predecessor at Allsport, Patrick McNally.<\/p>\n