Exclusive: Playtech COO resigns
Rafi Ashkenazi becomes second high-profile executive to leave business in less than two months following Aaron Johnson, CEO Virtue Fusion in September.
Rafi Ashkenazi has stepped down as COO of Playtech, with “more changes to come”, according to a source close to the business.
Ashkenazi is the second high-profile executive to leave the business in less than two months following eGaming Review’s exclusive story that Aaron Johnson, former CEO of the company’s B2B bingo arm Virtue Fusion, had left the company in September.
Ashkenazi, who is based on the Isle of Man where the company is incorporated for tax reasons, headed the company’s operations and, with seven years service, is one of the company’s longest serving employees, resigned three weeks ago, eGR has learned.
The reasons for his departure are as yet unclear.
“The company is managed from the very top and one day people are there and the next they’re not,” a source close to the company revealed. “More changes are afoot but we don’t know what they might be,” the source added.
In September eGaming Review exclusively revealed that Johnson, one of Sagi’s closest advisors and executives, had left the business after allegedly “falling out” with the founder and majority shareholder. He has now left the company with a “substantial payoff”, a source told eGR.
Another source close to the company called Ashkenazi’s departure “bad news” for Playtech as he ran “all the operations from the Isle of Man”. “He knows everything about Playtech and everything goes through him,” the source added.
Former COO Shay Segev, who has been with the company for four years, has returned to the role after previously being seconded to manage the Gala Interactive launch following its 10-year software agreement with Playtech.