Corcoran begins tenure as Betfair CEO
Former COO of Paddy Power completes 9-month gardening leave period.
Betfair’s new chief executive Breon Corcoran starts work with the exchange operator today following his move from Paddy Power.
The former Paddys COO had spent nine months on gardening leave, having agreed to take over from David Yu at Betfair last November.
Yu had held the role for six years, before being replaced on an interim basis by chief financial officer Stephen Morana in December last year, with Morana set to resume his CFO duties upon Corcoran’s arrival.
In an interview in the latest issue of eGaming Review, his last before handing over thre reigns today, Morana said: “I think there are a lot of things for Breon to get his head round and understand, and the great thing now is that the business is in good shape and he doesn’t need to come in and immediately change things.
“It isn’t a turnaround job that’s needed, he just needs to get up to speed and decide which areas he must prioritise,” added the CFO.
Among the areas which Corcoran must address is the changing situation in Schleswig-Holstein, where Betfair was among the first wave of companies to be awarded an operating licence.
Last week the German Land announced it would be abolishing its existing regime in favour of the controversial country-wide State Treaty.
The appointment of Corcoran to the role brought about the exit of former chief commercial officer Niall Wass, who left for short-term loans business Wonga in November, after missing out on the post.
Corcoran’s departure saw Paddy Power reshuffle its executive team, naming Peter O’Donovan as managing director of Paddy Power Online & Technology, Christopher Coyne as head of paddypower.com, and Eamonn Toland as president of Paddy Power North America, where he has been responsible for overseeing the operator’s application for a preliminary finding of suitability in Nevada, which was approved earlier this month.
More recently, the operator appointed LOVEFiLM co-founder William Reeve as head of operations and former lastminute.com CTO Fin Goulding as chief information officer.
Read the current issue of eGaming Review for an interview with former interim CEO Stephen Morana. To subscribe, click here.