Ex-Chelsea official lands job with club's ownership group after leaving Stamford Bridge for Formula One team following 14-year stint
Atkins, who departed Stamford Bridge after 14 years in 2022 to head up communications at F1 giants McLaren, will take up the role at Clearlake Capital, Daily Mail Sport understands.
While he will no doubt be utilised at Chelsea, Atkins will be tasked with supporting existing operations across the LA-based investment firm's portfolio in Europe and America.
Before joining Chelsea, he spent a decade in Washington DC working for the UK Foreign Office and will provide additional experience to the group, whose interest in the Premier League club is overseen by co-founder Behdad Eghbali.
Along with Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss, Clearlake also own French outfit RC Strasbourg.
While insiders have stressed that Atkins will not be purely Chelsea-centric in his new post, the move may well be seen as a positive for his former employers ahead of the new Premier League season. He is well known to both staff and the club's fan base.
Indeed, when Atkins departed west London, Chelsea released a glowing statement, in which they said that he had 'helped develop the club's communications into a deft, authoritative, and world-leading operation'.
Atkins arrived at Stamford Bridge five years after Roman Abramovich's takeover, and was in place for the most successful period in the club's history.
During his time at McLaren, the team won the constructors championship for the first time since 1998. Atkins departed the F1 world in February, with the ambition of finding a new role which would allow him to be closer to his family.
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