Betfair board reshuffles following Peter Rigby appointment

Betfair has announced former Informa CEO Peter Rigby is to join the company as a non-executive director next month as part of a number of changes to the board’s structure.

Current non-executive directors Mike McTighe and Fru Hazlitt are to retire with effect from 31 March, becoming the second and third long-standing board members to stand down this year after Flutter founder Josh Hannah retired in January.

McTighe joined Betfair as a director in 2008 and had held the roles of senior independent director and remuneration committee chairman, while Fru Hazlitt was appointed as a director of The Sporting Exchange in 2005 before becoming a non-executive director of Betfair following its incorporation three years later.

Following McTighe’s departure Ian Dyson, a board member since 2010, will become the senior independent director and sit on the nomination committee, and Betfair chairman Gerald Corbett will replace Hazlitt as chair of the corporate responsibility committee.

“Mike and Fru have both made immense contributions to the development of Betfair over many years. We wish them well, and thank them both for what they have done,” Corbett said.

The announcement comes a week after the operator reported a 28% increase in underlying EBITDA for the three month period ended 31 January 2014, citing improved performance from its sportsbook and mobile products.