Boston Business Journal

Former Dunkin' CEO discusses his ownership of English soccer club

Former Dunkin’ CEO and Wellesley resident Nigel Travis with the trophy celebrating Leyton Orient FC’s promotion to League One, the third level of the English Football League.

Forget Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, and Wrexham FC. Or Fenway Sports Group–owned Liverpool FC for that matter. Nigel Travis wants everyone in Greater Boston and New England to jump on the Leyton Orient train.

Who is Nigel Travis and why should anyone care about his club, affectionately known as "the O’s"?

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Leyton Orient FC, the 142-year-old football club based in Northeast London that earned promotion to  League One, the third level of the English Football League pyramid, embodies the meritocracy that is soccer everywhere in the world except the United States. 

Travis is the former CEO and chairman at Canton-based Dunkin' and author of the business book The Challenge Culture. He coached youth soccer in Wellesley for 10 years, where he still lives, and he is a lifelong Leyton Orient fan. 

“The first one was in 1959, when I was like nine. I went with my dad's builder, who said, 'come along and see a game.' We sat in the West End. That was the start of the story,” said Travis, who grew up near Leyton Orient's home ground, Brisbane Road.

Travis and his partners at Eagle Investments bought the club on June 20, 2017, from Italian owner Francesco Becchetti. Under Becchetti, Orient had dropped two levels, falling to the National League, the fifth level of English football. The first challenge for Travis and his group was to rescue the club from the threat of extinction.

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