Such is the role of business in sport these days, when the chief executive of a leading team or federation steps down, it suddenly becomes big news.Diego Costa's on-going injury concerns may be filling the back pages right now, but they were momentarily replaced with news of Ron Gourlay's departure from Chelsea on Wednesday.Chelsea confirmed their chief executive would be leaving via a statement on the club's website, explaining how Gourlay is departing Stamford Bridge after 10 years as a club employee, five of which were spent as CEO."[Gourlay is] leaving Chelsea in order to pursue new business opportunities," the statement read."Pending additional appointments, Chairman Bruce Buck and Director Marina Granovskaia will assume additional executive responsibilities."A lawyer by trade, Bruce Buck has been Chelsea chairman for over a decade now, but the name of Marina Granovskaia will be a little less familiar to Chelsea fans.Not any more.While there are more and more women working in football in the modern era, Granovskaia is set to become the most high-profile in her new role at Chelsea.There hasn't been any confirmation on what her additional executive responsibilities will be, but given they will be coming at the current Premier League leaders, she is arguably now the most powerful woman in football, too.Her rise to the top has been a long one, starting out working for Roman Abramovich in their native Russia.As Daily Telegraph journalist Matt Law explained, she has been an Abramovich employee for over 17 years and is highly regarded by the Chelsea owner.Not only that, but she has long been an influence on Chelsea's transfer policy."Granovskaia's influence has been growing for some time and she played a bigger part in many of Chelsea's transfers over the past few years than [Ron] Gourlay," Law recently reported in the Daily Telegraph."She was the driving force behind buying and selling Fernando Torres, and finalised this summer's 32 million purchase of top scorer Diego Costa."Given the impact Costa has made since that move from Atletico Madrid, it's no wonder Abramovoich and the rest of Chelsea's hierarchy rate Granovskaia so highly.Not only that, but the joint Russian and Canadian national has demonstrated a forward-thinking approach to her role and is widely seen as the figure who put in place Chelsea's current partnership with Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.Chelsea have used the Eredivisie club to blood many of their youngsters in recent seasons, sending the likes of Josh McEachran, Nemanja Matic and Lucas Piazon on loan there.The Blues also signed Marco van Ginkel, currently on loan at AC Milan, from Vitesse in 2013."She is the main point of contact in reference to getting messages to Abramovich and has played a key part in the link up with Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem," Law adds in his report.It's been a meteoric rise for someone who was once Abramovich's PA, as the Daily Mail's Neil Ashton pointed out.Interestingly, though, Granovskaia could provide a close link to the dressing room.Referring to Law's earlier article from the Daily Telegraph, she was influential in bringing Jose Mourinho back to Chelsea and according to Ashton, has enjoyed strong relationships with some players at Chelsea."She has been close to a number of players in the past and has been on texting terms with them," Ashton explains.It's the link with Mourinho that is of most interest, however. Especially given his role at Chelsea is significantly different to when he was first boss.From once being in charge of everything, the manager's remit is clear these dayshe's there to coach and the board takes care of everything else.Such a significant change high up can often lead to a period of instability, yet it appearsGranovskaia's influence has been such that Gourlay's departure shouldn't cause too much upheaval.It's safe to assume that if Granovskaia was the one who brought Mourinho back, it's unlikely she would be looking to appoint her own manager any time soon, especially given the success Chelsea are currently enjoying.She has played a key role in the club for some time, influencing major parts of Chelsea. Now that she has been afforded more powers, the initial signs are things continue to move in the right direction.Granovskaia has helped Chelsea get their act together on the pitch and the biggest challenge she will face off it is getting them a new home.Chelsea have endured a number of setbacks on that front, so can she deliver in the one area where Gourlay's reign as chief executive failed'Vote for Garry Hayes as the best established football writer in the 2014 Football Blogging Awards: http://bit.ly/VoteGDHGarry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayesRead more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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