People news 13 February 2014
The latest people moves from the egaming industry in the last seven days (7 February to 13 February 2014)
Defence tech CEO replaces Hannah on Betfair board
Leo Quinn to join as non-executive director effective from 5 March following Joshua Hannah’s departure
Leo Quinn, CEO of defence technology firm QinetiQ, is to join the board of Betfair next month following the departure of Fluttr founder Joshua Hannah (pictured).
Quinn will join as a non-executive director on 5 March, filling the void left by Hannah after he announced his decision to stand down from the board last month.
“[Quinn] has an excellent track record, considerable international experience in large public companies and will be a great addition to the board,” Gerald Corbett, chairman of Betfair, said.
Having been appointed CEO of QinetiQ in 2009, Quinn also served as a divisional COO with Invensys for three years after holding various management roles within defence contractor Honeywell International.
Svenska Spel head of brand Lindvall resigns
Swedish monopoly Svenska Spel has shuffled its brand management team following the departure of head of brand Johan Lindvall.
The operator’s former head of business Marie Avander will step into Lindvall’s shoes and take on the role of head of corporate brand, while HÃ¥kan Andersson has become the firm’s head of sponsorship relations having been with Svenska Spel since 2003.
Lindvall has resigned from his post after more than 11 years with the company, serving as the operator’s head of sponsorships prior to assuming the role of overall head of brand.
Michael Owen becomes BetVictor brand ambassador
BetVictor has appointed former Liverpool, Real Madrid and England footballer Michael Owen as its global brand ambassador.
Owen, who retired from the sport in 2013, will produce regular columns for the BetVictor.com site and also produce regular tweets for the operator’s accounts on Twitter and Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo over the next three years.
“Michael is a genuine sporting icon, instantly recognisable throughout the world and, as a global brand, we see Michael and BetVictor as the perfect fit,” Victor Chandler, chairman at BetVictor, said.
Betfred hires former Sportech head of CRM
UK bookmaker Betfred has appointed former Sportech head of CRM James Shaw to the role of head of retention.
Shaw joined Betfred this month and in his new position at Betfred will oversee the CRM strategy and social media for its online operations.
He spent three-and-a-half years at Sportech and has worked in the gaming industry since 2002 after holding various roles at both Littlewoods Gaming and New Football Pools.