Haig Oundjian

The son of an Armenian-born carpet merchant, Haig Oundjian was very much English. He was born in the London district of Putney and attended the famous Charterhouse school. A one-time salesman in his father´s company, Oundjian went on to become a wealthy entrepreneur following a successful career as a figure skater.

Oundjian was runner-up to Michael Williams in the British Figure Skating Championships in 1967 and 1968 before winning it in the next two years when the runner-up was John Curry. Oundjian was dethroned by Curry in 1971 before winning his third title the following year. Oundjian´s older sister Sylvia was third in the women´s competition at the 1966 Championships.

Oundjian took part in two World Figure Skating Champions (1970-71) with a best finish of sixth in the second year. He also took part in four European championships (1969-72) and won a bronze medal at Zürich in 1971. Oundjian competed in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished seventh at Sapporo.

After finishing his competitive career, Oundjian became chairman of the Ice Skating Association. Because of his love of football (he was an avid Tottenham Hotspur supporter), however, he became a major shareholder in Watford Football Club through his company Penguin. Oundjian was appointed vice-chairman to the then chairman, singer Elton John.

Oundjian served on the board of the English Football League, and after moving to live in Gibraltar maintained his connection with football in 2019 by buying a stake in, and becoming chairman of, the local football club Bruno´s Magpies (to become Calpe City Magpies from the 2026/27 season). They reached the high point of their history in the 2024/25 season by reaching the qualifying competition of the UEFA Conference League.