New bombshell at Ajax: brand new CEO Alex Kroes suspended (and probably fired) after ‘insider trading’

The Supervisory Board (SB) of the Amsterdam team took the decision after it emerged that Kroes purchased more than 17,000 Ajax shares a week before the publication of his intended appointment, on August 2, 2023. “It seems very likely that he has committed insider trading,” the club explained. The Supervisory Board intends to permanently terminate the collaboration with Kroes.

Ajax announced this summer that Kroes would become the club’s new general manager, succeeding Edwin van der Sar, but due to a non-competition clause in his contract with AZ, Kroes could only start at Ajax on March 15.

“We are very unpleasantly surprised that this is now happening to Ajax, because this is very bad for the club and for everyone who cares about the club,” Supervisory Board chairman Michael van Praag said in a response. “The actions of Alex Kroes are not compatible with what we stand for with Ajax. The moment at which he bought the shares means that he was trading with insider information. A listed company cannot tolerate such a violation of the law, especially if it concerns the CEO. After careful deliberation, the Supervisory Board has therefore come to the conclusion that Alex’s position as a board member of Ajax is not tenable.”

The news about Kroes will be just as much of a bombshell as the earlier departure of Marc Overmars. That also came as a bolt from the blue.

The news about Kroes comes at a dramatic time for coach John van ‘t Schip and his players. Ajax is trying to enforce European football in the last seven matches and benefits from rest. Ajax is having a very difficult season on a sporting level. It is only fifth in the Eredivisie, no less than 28 points behind leader PSV. Sporting director Sven Mislintat was fired in September, and coach Maurice Steijn was also allowed to leave a few weeks later.