about john kimbell
background
Based in England, but with family in Australia – John has business interests on both sides of the world.
His passion for football was established in 1983 when he was taken to his first ‘game by his Dad at Fratton Park, Portsmouth. Luckily for him, it was the beginning of lifetime of supporting ‘Pompey’, where he went from being a fan in the stand, to one of the Club’s Board Directors in 2015.
Between 2015 and 2018, he helped oversee the running of the club, including the appointment of managers including Paul Cook and Kenny Jackett, as well as helping to deliver the EFL League Two title in 2017.
John was then an integral part of the delegation that visited Los Angeles in 2017 to negotiate the terms of the sale of Portsmouth Football Club to ex Disney-CEO, Michael Eisner and his family, before he stepped down from the board.
Having graduated from both the University of Bristol and Portsmouth with Marketing qualifications, John worked at some of the biggest Media and Creative agencies in the UK before establishing his first business in 2007, when he established Navigate Digital, an independent communications agency based in London.
However, football has always been John’s real passion and after he stepped down from the board at Portsmouth, John took his past experiences of working with professional clubs, players and agents to establish his own football consultancy built on 3 core values of honesty, transparency and reliability.
John takes a pragmatic approach when working with clients and other stakeholders putting their interests over his own, ensuring relationships are built for the long term, rather than immediate or short term gain.
I worked successfully with John Kimbell to bring a new player into Notts County. John was transparent in all negotiations and displayed integrity and professionalism throughout. As you would expect, he had the best interests of his players at heart, however having previously worked for an EFL club, he was realistic around contract expectations and managed his client accordingly
I first met John in the summer of 2020 and was instantly impressed. His knowledge and experience in the game means I value his judgement and insight and, as a result, he is someone I trust and have an excellent working relationship with
Having known John for several years, I can safely say that his experience in the game and commercial acumen has seen him create a progressive, all-round agency that services players so well, at all levels of the game
John has been brilliant with me since he first scouted me playing for the Oxford United Academy in 2022. He’s honest, realistic, and great to work with. He was a huge support to me when I had an extended time on the sidelines due to an injury and always has my best interests at heart
