Following a board vote on Monday evening David Merritt was elected as the new Chairman of Bees United.
34-year-old Merritt, who hails from Chiswick, was unanimously voted as Chair following Brian Burgess's announcement that he was stepping down at the Trust's AGM on Saturday.
David said: "It is an immense privilege to be elected as Chair of Bees United, and an incredible challenge to build on the success of my predecessor. Brian has dedicated a huge amount of effort to Bees United, and without his contribution we would not have achieved anywhere near so much in terms of Bees United, the acquisition and management of our stake in the Football Club, or in terms of progressing a new stadium. His role has been absolutely pivotal. The fact that he now needs to stand down from his roles as both Chair of BU and as Director of the Football Club to focus on the new stadium is a clear measure of his success. I am looking forward to seeing the progress on a new stadium now that Brian will be dedicating his considerable skills to it."
He added: "With a change of leadership the evolution of Bees United will continue. Financial support to maintain the club (and fund our aspirations for promotion) remains a key challenge. At the same time we will need to ensure that Bees United as an organisation maintains a clear sense of direction. Through the continued volunteer effort of our members we need to deliver on all the different aspects of being a community organisation dedicated to securing the future of Brentford Football Club. Bees United has achieved great things so far, and all of it is down to the dedication and hard work of supporters of Brentford Football Club. With that continued support I am confident we will achieve even greater things in the future.”
David, a Financial Director and qualified accountant, was one of the founding committee members of BIAS (the independent supporters organisation) in its current form, and the first to attend a Supporters' Direct meeting about supporter ownership of football clubs.