Exclusive: Rank Group reshuffles executive team as transformation strategy nears completion

Rank Group has selected Jon Martin as the new MD of Rank Interactive with immediate effect, EGR can exclusively reveal. Martin most recently served as MD for the Rank International business, overseeing the group’s Enracha and Yo! brands, which predominantly operate in the Spanish and Portuguese markets. He joined Rank in January 2019 as a finance and strategy director for Rank Interactive, supporting the delivery of the firm’s digital transformation strategy following the acquisition of Stride Gaming in October 2019. Since joining the UK casino operator, Martin has held several different roles at the firm, including MD of the Yo! Bingo business, as well as serving as a board member on Rank Interactive’s online joint venture with Aspers Casino. Martin also held management oversight and responsibility for Rank’s investment in Indian rummy operator Passion Gaming. A veteran of the industry, he also held strategy-based roles at William Hill over a five-year period. Former Stride Gaming CEO Eitan Boyd previously served as MD of Rank Interactive but transitioned to a director of innovation role in February. Since then, Rank Group CEO John O’Reilly had been in interim charge of the Rank Interactive business. Speaking about his new role, Martin said: “The opportunity to lead the highly talented team at Rank Interactive is one that I relish. “We have a clear programme of work to advance and I’m confident that we are now very well placed to deliver strong and sustainable growth as we look to migrate on to our proprietary platform,” he added. EGR understands O’Reilly will now take over responsibility for the Rank International business on an interim basis until a successor is found. Rank International COO Marcin Zawada and Enracha MD Albert Zorrilla will report directly into O’Reilly as a result. O’Reilly paid tribute to Martin’s role within the firm: “I am delighted that Jon is now heading up the Rank Interactive business. “Under his leadership of the International team, we have been delivering impressive growth in the Yo!-branded casino and bingo business and we have successfully navigated the impact of the pandemic across our Enracha venues. “Jon will now play a critical role in ensuring the success of our digital transformation programme,” O’Reilly added.

Rank Group’s three-year digital transformation strategy is due to complete later this year and has so far seen the firm migrate brands onto the in-house Stride proprietary technology platform, starting with Bella Casino in November 2020. The firm’s biggest brands, Mecca and Grosvenor, are due to be migrated over later in 2021. The stated aim of the strategy is to reduce company costs while allowing Rank to become more agile in refining its products, with the overriding ambition to become a £1bn business within five years. However, these plans have effectively been torpedoed by the Covid-19 pandemic with the firm’s venues-based business closed due to lockdown measures and unable to generate retail revenue. In its latest set of financial results, Rank Group reported a 72% drop in revenue for the period ending 31 March 2021 driven by a 98% decrease in revenue from its UK-based bingo halls and casino business. Rank’s digital revenue also slipped by 3% when compared to the same period in 2020 but increased by 3% on a like-for-like basis, rising to 4% with the inclusion of Stride Gaming revenue.