People news 03/05/2012
A round up of industry moves from the last week (3 May to 10 May 2012).
Hills exec bonuses scrape through
Just 50.11% of shareholders approve remuneration report at the operator’s AGM “ includes £1.2m bonus for CEO Ralph Topping.
William Hill’s remuneration report only just received the majority it needed to pass at the operator’s annual general meeting earlier this week.
The report, which contains provisions for a retention bonus worth £1.2m for chief executive Ralph Topping (pictured), was passed by 261,059,706 to 259,951,884 or 50.11% to 49.89%. Accounting for the 17,593,989 abstentions, less than half of all available shareholder votes came out in favour of the remuneration package. However, an overwhelming majority or 99.76% voted to keep Topping on as CEO.
Today’s opposition follows a similar uprising in response to Topping’s 13.5% salary hike from 2010 to 2011, with the remuneration report in last year’s AGM receiving just under 176m votes against.
In a statement today, William Hill chairman Gareth Davis said: “Ralph Topping has been instrumental in revitalising the fortunes of William Hill since taking the Chief Executive job in difficult circumstances four years ago,” citing the eGR Operator of the Year’s 12% revenue growth and 19% operating profit growth in Q1 2012.
People moves – the last seven days
Mr Green poaches Jackpot Joy marketing chief
Casino operator Mr Green has appointed Ella Hall as its first-ever chief marketing officer as part of the restructuring of the group into three divisions.
Hall joins the company from Gamesys where she served as head of marketing for the operator’s core bingo brand Jackpot Joy. Commenting on her appointment, she spoke of her desire to boost Mr Green’s growing profile in the sector: “Mr Green is an instantly likeable brand where the focus on the overall gaming experience and responsible gaming constitute major parts. A brand with those strong foundations offers unlimited opportunities,” she said.
Trickett ends Titan sponsorship deal
Sam Trickett, the highest-earning English poker player in history, has ended his sponsorship deal with iPoker skin Titan Poker.
The 25-year-old player also revealed that he would be taking part in the $1m buy-in ‘Big One’ tournament at this summer’s World Series of Poker, held to benefit charity One Drop Foundation. He will be sponsored by Matchbook for the tournament, after the Alderney-licensed betting exchange received the necessary approval from Caesars Entertainment and ESPN.
Campbell leaves 32Red
32Red have announced that its IT director Graham Campbell has stepped down from the board after 10 years, and resigned with immediate effect from his position.
Campbell joined the casino operator from Ladbrokes in 2002 alongside former managing director of Ladbrokes International and current 32Red CEO Ed Ware, and will continue to work with the company as a consultant. In a statement announcing his departure, the 32Red board said: “The board of 32Red wishes to thank Graham for his significant contribution to the development of the business since 2002 and wishes him the very best for the future.”
Bodog UK has appointed Sathish Seshadri as software development director. He has been with Bodog UK in various roles since January 2011, and before that he worked for Betfair as a senior database engineer and will work closely with head of casino Adam Joseph.
Claes Hallén has been named as the new CEO of Redbet, taking over from Jörgen Andersson. Hallén was previously acting chairman for the Swedish operator after replacing Mats Enquist in Q1.
Email any new moves to t.victor@egrmagazine.com with the subject line ‘eGR People Moves’.