Is Bowcock the last man standing in the William Hill CEO race?

After sacking CEO James Henderson in July, William Hill chairman Gareth Davis warned the search to find a successor could last a while – but few envisaged seven months on the firm would still be operating under an interim boss.

Upon elevating CFO Philip Bowcock into the interim chief exec position last summer, Davis fired the starting gun to find the man or woman who would be tasked with steering the William Hill ship into calmer waters.

Speaking to EGR Intel at the time, the chair said that while hiring someone with gaming experience wouldn’t be the “be all and end all”, a person with digital and international experience at a public company would be sought.

“We are looking for a proven CEO with PLC or international equivalent experience, someone who is very digitally capable and ideally someone with international growth experience and of breaking into new markets,” Davis said.

This list of requirements seemingly put a squiggly line through Bowcock, whose previous roles were broadly limited to financial control and director positions – he joined Hills in late 2015 having been FD at Cineworld for four years.

Thinning field

But the race to succeed Henderson has been something of a reluctant one, with City analysts believing the price on Bowcock is shortening with each passing day. In racing parlance, while there may have been a variety of runners down at the start, those actually under starters’ orders were limited.

And if ICE rumours are true that Davis is ready to end the race and announce Bowcock as permanent leader as early as the firm’s full-year results on 24 February, then early backers should see a large rule four deduction applied.

EGR Intel understands an early target for the role was former Paddy Power CEO Andy McCue. He is thought to have been approached by William Hill prior to him being named chief exec of Frankie & Benny’s owner the Restaurant Group in September.

Former Betfair COO Mark Brooker was another of the early runners but instead opted for a non-executive director role at Hills and completely ruled himself out when recently becoming chief operating officer at Trainline.

GVC’s Kenny Alexander is also believed to have been on the operator’s wish list, most likely via a merger of the two firms. Amaya chief Rafi Ashkenazi, meanwhile, would have taken the top job ahead of Bowcock had Hills and Amaya managed to successfully sell the benefits of a merger to its shareholders.

Final hurdle

So it all appears to point to the appointment of Bowcock, who is thought to have impressed Davis during his short tenure. However, there could well be one more fence to clear and one last runner to beat before Bowcock backers can finally collect.

EGR Intel understands that while Bowcock might have the backing of the chairman, major shareholders, such as Parvus Asset Management and Capital Group Companies, are firmly against making his tenure as CEO permanent.

In what feels like another case of déjà vu at William Hill, the shareholders and the chairman are once again at odds over the operator’s long-term strategy.

Parvus, which owns approximately 15% of the London-listed operator, was one of the most outspoken critics of William Hill’s proposed merger with Amaya last year. Indeed, the hedge fund’s public opposition was one of the primary reasons the deal collapsed, which happened just days after Parvus had written an open letter to the Hills board explaining its denunciation of the tie-up.

Two-man race?

And sources close to William Hill believe the operator’s recently-appointed non-exec director, John O’Reilly, is coming up fast on the rails.

They even claim that, in light of the objections to Bowcock from Parvus and Capital, O’Reilly has now “moved to odds-on” to be appointed William Hill’s new CEO.

Other sources with knowledge of the matter were less confident of O’Reilly’s chances and his own ambitions to take up the role. However, his experience in senior digital roles at tier-one gaming brands like Ladbrokes and Gala Coral would tick boxes Bowcock simply can’t.

In response to the speculation, a Hills spokesperson said: “Gareth [Davis] said the process could take up to a year and we will update on progress towards the end of February.”

This all leaves William Hill in a rather precarious position. After all, the list of c-level execs who command the respect of the City, have extensive digital knowledge and vast experience of the gambling sector are in relatively short supply.

History tells us Davis made an error in appointing Henderson in the first place, so he knows, with major shareholders watching his every move, the pressure’s on to deliver the right man for the job. Get it wrong and it could well be one of the last William Hill decisions he makes.