Cherry rejigs management team with Sony Pictures hire

Cherry has reorganised its digital management team following the hire of former Universal Sony Pictures Nordic MD Jonas Wåhlander as chief executive of the company’s online gaming division.

Wåhlander officially joined the Swedish operator yesterday after working for nine years at Sony Pictures, where he held roles including finance director and managing director for the Nordics.

“I’m really looking forward to joining a loyal, best in class team in Malta to continue to drive the business forward; it’s a tremendously exciting opportunity,” Wåhlander said.

The operator also announced its current chief operating officer Marius Andersen will take up the newly created role of chief growth officer at the firm, reporting directly into Wåhlander.

Andersen will be responsible for finding added growth opportunities for Cherry’s online gaming business, such as identifying new markets and potential gaming partners.

“Cherry’s long-term strategy is to generate continued profitable growth in online gaming, both through organic growth and acquisitions,” Fredrik Burvall, Cherry Group CEO, said.

“These management changes will support Cherry Online Gaming to continue to grow faster than the market and increase our profitability,” Burvall added.

The management reshuffle comes after Cherry recently reported a 55% increase in H1 online revenues to SEK123.8m (£9.5m) and laid out plans for a rapid scaling of its business following a number of key acquisitions.