Bines has joined the club on a voluntary basis, and has the mantle of being the clubs first ever Chief Executive. This addition to the senior management team, following months of talks, has taken place to ensure that the club has a new executive layer to support the board and help the club achieve its ambitions, which include the imminent transition to full-time football.

Jonathan Bines has a well-established, successful track record in business, working in the City for the past 25 years, holding various senior leadership positions across businesses of varying scale. Local family man Bines also has a significant, life-long passion for football, and has made no secret that he sees Dorking Wanderers as a key part of his future. He commented “It’s a privilege to be given the opportunity to work with Marc and his team. What they have achieved so far – 12 promotions in 24 years – is of course unprecedented and remarkable. I doubt anyone believed that this was possible when they started out and I’m really excited to be part of the setting and delivering of more unrealistic ambitions. Daring to dream, being resilient and making it happen would sum up Dorking Wanderers for me. This ethos resonates with me entirely and I can’t wait to get stuck into being part of the effort to maintain it and to push on to evolve the club further so it is appropriately positioned for even more success”.

The addition of Bines to the clubs senior management is seen as a pivotal moment in the clubs journey, and as a milestone coincides with Dorking Wanderers celebrating its 25th birthday since forming in 1999. Executive Director and part owner Kris Lea said: “In recent years we have arguably had bigger challenges off the field then on it, and it was important to address this by adding further experience and acumen to the boardroom and club as a whole to ensure that we can successfully continue to progress. We made positive strides on this front last year, and now have a significant number of volunteers and shareholders at varying levels, who have invested in the club and are working hard behind the scenes to support us, not only in the UK but also from the US and other parts of the world. Jonathan will further enhance this team and has the personality, leadership qualities and drive to positively impact our operation moving forward”.

Lea continued: “On a personal level I am absolutely delighted that Jonathan has joined us at such a pivotal time. We have a senior management team that is predominantly made up of volunteers, who juggle their very busy work schedules to support the club off the field, often leading to meetings and work tasks in anti-social hours. There have been many examples of this in recent years, however for me nothing has epitomised it more than Jason Rabbetts, and the significant hours he put against the Cat B and A ground development projects, and Alan Gout, with his vast secretarial duties. It’s also worth remembering that Marc is also still a volunteer, and puts tireless hours in behind the scenes with his chairman’s hat on”.

Founder and Chairman Marc White added: “The amount of work put in from myself, Jason Rabbetts, Alan Gout and Kris Lea, on a voluntary basis, in the last 5 years, has been phenomenal. Words could never do justice to the amount of hours the aforementioned individuals have put into the club in order to support the on-field progression we have enjoyed, and we are of course supported by many other key individuals in the club”.

“Ultimately, the club intends to continue its progression, both on and off the field. The higher you climb, the more you learn how the two are critically linked. We have travelled across the country in the last 18 months and we are consistently gobsmacked at the size of the operations we are competing against, and as such, taking the club forward off the field is paramount to ensure we are able to continue to compete on the field”.

“Jonathan is an inspiring individual who brings a wealth of business skills into the club, alongside a passion for football and people. Everyone will soon learn that we are very lucky to have his services at hand in order to enable our amazing club to continue its upward trajectory”.

Jonathan Bines appointment as Chief Executive is immediate and he can be contacted directly via: jonathan@dorkingwanderers.com