Sky Bet hires Morgan Stanley’s Vaughan Lewis
City analyst to become Sky Betting & Gaming’s director of corporate development as firm looks to boost expansion
Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) has appointed Morgan Stanley analyst Vaughan Lewis to the newly created role of director of corporate development.
Lewis, who monitored the online gaming sector closely in his analyst role for the past 12 years, will join SB&G’s Leeds base in April to help boost the operator’s corporate strategy.
Vaughan will report into CFO Ian Proctor and, according to the firm, will “lead work on our strategic options for further expansion” and “set business plan goals to deliver continued strong growth in the years ahead”.
Proctor added: “Our team will be greatly strengthened by his [Lewis’] extensive knowledge of the sector and I’m looking forward to working with him on refining our corporate strategy as we continue to expand.”
Lewis said he was “incredibly excited” about his new role, with his move making him the third City analyst over the past 12 months to make the switch to work for a gaming operator.
“[SB&G] has grown quickly to become the UK’s most popular online operator, and I believe it has a bright future ahead of it,” Lewis added. “I can’t wait to join a very strong team and look forward to being part of the continued success of the company.”
Last year former Peel Hunt analysts Nick Batram joined GVC Holdings to become its head of investor relations and corporate strategy, following the operator’s acquisition of bwin.party.
Meanwhile, SBTech hired Richard Carter from Deutsche Bank to take on its vacant CEO position following the departure of Itai Zak.