Former F1 Marketing Director Norman Joins Formula E

Formula E has hired Ellie Norman as its marketing director for the all-electric championship, after working at Formula 1 and Manchester United.

Norman will join Formula E on September 30, replacing Henry Chilcott who has held the role for the past four years, but will leave the company after the season finale in London later this month.

Norman spent five years working in Formula 1 as Marketing and Communications Director and the last two years at Manchester United where he was the Premier League club’s Communications Director.

She said: “I have closely followed the development of Formula E from the sidelines since its inception 10 years ago and have always been impressed by its singular aim to create a whole new fan base around thrilling electric racing in exciting locations, where technological innovation and sustainability play a central role.”

Norman joins the company following the recent announcement that Liberty Global will acquire a controlling 65% stake in Formula E from Warner Bros. Discovery, with the remaining 35% held by minority shareholders.

The transaction is separate from Liberty Media’s ownership of Formula 1 and its planned future control of Dorna Sports, which operates the MotoGP and World Superbike championships, and is expected to close before the end of 2024, subject to regulatory approval.

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds previously worked with Norman at Honda and Virgin Media and says her appointment is the next step in the global development of the championship following the job taken on by Chilcott.

“I haven’t worked with her for a long time but I’ve watched her develop over that time,” Dodds told Autosport magazine.

“For me, the combination of someone who loves motorsport, understands the product, understands the fans’ point of view, has a lot of experience in sports management and in relevant sports marketing gained in Formula 1, and is also something I am familiar with, just seemed like a brilliant solution to me.

“It’s a perfect transition from having the right team to get the job done (under Chilcott’s leadership) to a different style of leadership for the job that needs to be done.”