Derek G. Chappell is a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 businessman and the plc

Public limited company

A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....

 chairman of Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

Born in Dartford

Dartford

Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....

, Chappell was born into a Charlton supporting family. His grandfather had been a season ticket holder in the 1920s, whilst Chappell himself first had a season ticket in the 1960s. He began his career working in the postroom of Kent County Council

Kent County Council

Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...

 before working his way up through the National Health Service

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

. After working for the NHS for 18 years, he moved to the private sector

Private sector

In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

 in Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and then became an entrepreneur. He purchased a private hospital, eventually owning five in total. Four were sold in 2005, with one remaining in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

. He also still owns some healthcare related businesses. In recognition of his achievements, he won the entrepreneur of the year award in Scotland for consumer services and also made the final 25 awards in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

In the summer of 2005, Chappell became a director of Charlton Athletic plc and Charlton Athletic Football Company Limited. In March 2008, he became chairman of the Charlton Athletic plc, which has responsibility over the corporate direction of the club. His early priorities include strengthening the club's financial position, a process which has seen a number of players depart the club.