People news 25 June 2015
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (19 June to 25 June 2015)
Ladbrokes axes international team with Cope to depart
International managing director Damian Cope to leave firm with nine other roles placed at risk of redundancy
Ladbrokes this morning announced plans to axe its international team with international managing director Damian Cope (pictured) set to leave the firm and nine other roles placed at risk of redundancy.
The operator said the move comes after a costs and efficiency review and wouldn’t impact operations in Belgium, Spain and Belgium, which all have a locally based management team.
Australia MD Dean Shannon will now report directly to CEO Jim Mullen while the Belgium business, led by MD Alexis Murphy will report into UK retail MD Lee Drabwell.
The joint-venture in Spain, represented by Sportium retail director Mark Fowler, will liaise directly with Adam Greenblatt, Ladbrokes corporate development and strategy director.
“Our international businesses each have strong management teams and do not require extensive support from a centrally based International team,” Mullen said in a statement.
BetVictor’s Paul Louis handed COO role
Changes at the top of BetVictor’s management team continue apace with managing director Paul Louis moving into the position of chief operating officer, eGaming Review has learned.
Louis, who joined BetVictor 15 years ago, became MD of the firm back in 2010 and has now been handed COO responsibilities under new chief executive Andreas Meinrad.
The switch has also resulted in a change of role for incumbent COO Matt Scarrott, who has become the operator’s director of sports & VIP.
News of the change comes less than a week after the firm announced it was in the market for an additional eight senior staff as part of Meinrad’s recently revealed three-year growth strategy.
PKR names former Sportingbet MD Neil Alexander as CEO
Online poker operator PKR has appointed former managing director of MyLotto24 and Lotto Network Neil Alexander as its new chief executive.
Alexander replaces long-serving PKR CEO Malcolm Graham who left the company earlier this year following almost a decade at the helm.
Graham, who has moved into the role of vice president at Gametech, was the second major departure from PKR after co-founder and COO Leon Walters left back in February.
Alexander most recently worked for two years as MD of Mylotto24 and Lotto Network following a six-year stint at Sportingbet where he held roles including managing director Europe and CFO Europe.
McIver poised for return to egaming
Former Sportingbet chief executive Andrew McIver (pictured) said he is lining-up a return to the egaming industry, despite recently rebuffing the advances of BetVictor, in an exclusive interview with eGaming Review.
McIver, who took up a non-executive director position with digital sports solutions provider Chroma Sports earlier this month, has been out of the industry since Sportingbet was sold to GVC Holdings and William Hill back in 2013.
However, speaking to eGR for an interview that will appear in the August issue, McIver said he was “definitely” interested in taking up an egaming hot seat and was actively scouring the market for suitable opportunities.