Harlequins chief executive David Ellis officially replaced former chief Mark Evans in August and Surrey Comet sports reporter Stuart Amos got the chance to discuss his new life at the Stoop.

Stuart Amos: How have you settled in?

David Ellis: I joked the other day that if Carlsberg did dream jobs, this would be it. Who wouldn’t want to be helping run a rugby club?

I’ve got a lot to learn, but what is really exciting – especially when you have arguably the best director of rugby in the Premiership and look at the amazing squad he has built – is that the long term future of this club is going to put us in the position where we can become arguably one of the best clubs in Europe and the world.

SA: Winning the Amlin Cup is a good start?

DE: I was invited down for the game in Cardiff to see what I had let myself in for. It was brilliant. The guys put in a lot of hard work. With any professional sport you are only a hair’s breadth from success or failure.

But we are so good in so many of our stats and have an enormous platform to win more trophies. I’m hugely excited.

SA: What is the main priority for you?

DE: My priority is the fan experience – which has many dimensions – and part of that is getting more fans into the stadium.

A lot of work has been kicked off to get a closer understanding of what the fans are experiencing and how we get better at delivering that experience, so that when a young family come to the Stoop we are doing the right things for them.

It is a case of really understanding the whole breadth of our fan base – from the young to the old – and understanding what their customer journey is.

If we can do that successfully, then I think we will deal with filling the stadium, we will deal with delivering the right things for our sponsors and that will help us to become one of the best clubs in Europe.

SA: Your appointment draws a line under the Bloodgate saga, is this a fresh start for the club?

DE: In terms of Bloodgate, it will always be part of our history.

When you see what is happening at the club, like the huge increase in season ticket sales, winning the Amlin Cup, having someone like Conor here and one of the best academy squads in Premiership moving forward, my addition to that is small.

A massive journey has already happened.

Mine are a fresh pair of eyes, but the club has come a long way since then.

SA: What was your background before coming here?

DE: Social housing.

I was the director of business development and marketing for Catalyst Housing Group.

They have 20,000 homes in west London – not much in Richmond, but mainly in Hounslow and all down the M4 corridor.

I looked after sales and marketing, commercials stuff, communications and PR, so it was quite a wide brief.

If it wasn’t Harlequins I probably would have stayed there.

SA: So, are you a Quins fan?

DE: I came down when I was 17-years-old. I went to school in London and came down here to train – I wasn’t good enough to play – and since then I’ve been a fan.

I haven’t been a season ticket holder mainly because of moving around with my job.

Five years ago I was a regular.

I actually went out to India with Future Hope and a long time ago I was asked to train with the London Broncos. I’ve had a lot of links to the Stoop with my life.

Quins host Newcastle Falcons at the Stoop tomorrow.