Adriel Lares is the CFO of Chelsea Football Club, which he joined in November 2024 and moved to London from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Lares has held multiple CFO positions prior to joining the sports world—Stash, Fastly, and 3PAR—and oversaw successful IPOs. A Stanford University graduate (’94) with a BA in economics, Lares has a strong foundation in corporate finance from his investment banking roots at Morgan Stanley’s technology banking practice in Menlo Park, California. Lares is a board director at Duckhorn Portfolio, which leverages his CFO experience and being a cofounder of Memento Mori.
He currently serves on the nonprofit boards of The National Hispanic Institute, the schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco, and the Vida Valiente Foundation. In his spare time, he moonlights as the cofounder of one of Napa Valley California’s most sought-after wines, Memento Mori.
How does your Latino heritage influence you as a leader?
Being new to London I think back to the times where as a Latino in the United States the feeling of being one of the few ‘in the room’. I find it a source of strength that I can leverage my parents’ feelings and experiences of how they thrived in a new country.
Outside of work, what are you passionate about and why?
Maybe not surprising it’s wine. I love how it brings people together. I also enjoy mentoring and have done so through Stanford and Vida Valiente.
The Alumni Society’s theme of this year is Leadership for a Changing World. What does it mean to you to lead in a changing world?
It means showing through your actions as a leader what you value and represent.
What major changes have you observed in your industry over the past year?
Football and wine are global in nature but they are always looking to how we make ourselves attractive to the next generation.
What are you doing to ensure you remain a nimble and adaptable leader during these changing times?
Listen more often.
