Shahid Khan

Shahid Khan is the current owner and chairman of Fulham, having bought the club from Mohamed Al-Fayed in July 2013.

Before Fulham
Shahid was born in Lahore, Pakistan, to a middle-class family involved in the construction industry. His mother was a professor of mathematics, and his father used to own a shop of the survey and drawing accessories. He also had a brother named Tariq, who sadly died in his early 20's.

He moved to the United States in 1967 at the age of 16 to study at the University of Illinois in Urbana–Champaign. He graduated from the UIUC College of Engineering with a BSc in Industrial Engineering in 1971 and was later was awarded the Mechanical Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999.

Khan worked at the automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate Corporation while attending the University of Illinois. When he graduated he was hired as the engineering director for the company. In 1978, he started 'Bumper Works', which made car bumpers for customized pickup trucks and body shop repairs. The funds to start the new business included a $50,000 loan from the Small Business Administration and $16,000 of his own savings.

In 1980, he bought Flex-N-Gate from his former employer Charles Gleason Butzow, bringing Bumper Works into the fold. Khan grew the company so that it supplied bumpers for the 'Big Three' car manufacturers (General Motors, Ford and Daimler Chrysler). By 2019, Flex-N-Gate had 25,000 employees and 69 manufacturing plants in the United States, China, Argentina, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico and Canada. In 2020 had a revenue of $8.9 billion and was ranked as the 46th largest privately-held American company by Forbes.

Shahid's first attempt to purchase an NFL team came on 11 February 2010, when he entered into an agreement to acquire 60% of the then-St. Louis Rams from Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, subject to approval by other NFL owners. However, Stan Kroenke, the minority shareholder of the Rams, ultimately exercised a clause in his ownership agreement to match any proposed bid.

On 29 November 2011, he agreed to purchase the Jacksonville Jaguars from Wayne Weaver and his ownership group subject to NFL approval. Weaver announced his sale of the team to Khan later that same day, for a purchase price of $770 million. The sale was finalized on 4 January 2012, making him the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team.

Fulham (2013-present)
In July 2013, Shahid negotiated the purchase of Fulham from its previous owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed. The deal was finalized on 12 July 2013, with the amount estimated between £150–200 million. An official purchase price for the club was not announced, with him stating that it was "highly confidential".

It was a disasterous first season as an owner of the club, and a steep learning curve, as Fulham were relegated from the Premier League after a thirteen year stay in the top flight. Questionable decisions, mainly the sacking of René Meulensteen after only 75 days in charge, before hiring Felix Magath who ultimately led the team to their demise, were at the forefront of Khan's early ownership.

Different approaches were taken by Shahid to ensure the club would return to the Premier League as quick as possible, however it would be another four years before this would happen. The hiring of Slaviša Jokanović as head coach would turn out to be one of the best decisions by Khan, as he led the club to a 2018 Play-off Final victory.

Despite the highs of the 2018 promotion, the club would begin several years of gaining a "yo-yo club" status, as they were both relegated and promoted twice.