People news 06 June 2013
The latest people moves from the egaming industry in the last seven days (31 May to 06 June 2013)
Exclusive: bwin.party sees senior management departures
Business development director Alen Lang to move on while WPT boss Steve Heller leaves as part of cost reduction at California office
Three bwin.party senior managers are set to leave the operator, the first high-profile departures since CEO Norbert Teufelberger initiated a streamlined business strategy in April.
Business development director Alen Lang, group technology director Tod Martin and World Poker Tour (WPT) chief executive Steve Heller are all leaving the firm, eGaming Review has learned.
Lang, most recently responsible for bwin.party’s US strategy, is to step down after eight years with the company. In the past 18 months he has established bwin.party’s US presence, clinching deals with MGM Resorts, Boyd Gaming and California tribe United Auburn, while also signing a UK-facing partnership deal with social operator Zynga.
Meanwhile, as part of a cost reduction exercise at the WPT office in Orange County, California, WPT chief executive Steve Heller has been made redundant. Heller joined Party Gaming in November 2005 and served as CEO of its Asian business before heading up the bwin.party-owned WPT.
Exclusive: Former Idle Games exec appointed PokerStars’ social head
PokerStars has hired Mark Buser, formerly general manager of Fresh Deck Poker from Idle Games, as its director of social gaming, Social Casino Intelligence can exclusively reveal.
Buser will be responsible for executing Stars’ strategy to grow and monetise its user base on the free-to-play PokerStars.net site with the aim of replacing Zynga Poker as the dominant social poker brand.
He will report to Rational Group CMO Alex Payne, and is based at the firm’s head office on the Isle of Man, having relocated from San Francisco. His appointment was confirmed by a spokesperson for Idle Games.
Exclusive: Betfred appoints Luke Brill as Australia MD
Luke Brill has been named as managing director of Betfred’s Australian business as the operator edges closer to securing its first licence in the country.
UK-facing operator Betfred applied for an Australian online gaming licence in the country’s Northern Territory earlier this year and is currently working with the state’s regulator to finalise the process. Brill joins on 1 July as Betfred’s first full-time employee in the region and he will begin recruiting for a core operational team including traders, marketing and legal and finance experts.
Brill was global head of marketing and gaming for Sportingbet’s Australian brand Centrebet for five years before leaving the operator in 2011. Until the £454m joint takeover of Sportingbet by William Hill and GVC, Centrebet claimed around 20% of market share along with Paddy Power-owned Sportsbet.
Seven days in people news:
Cruddace to leave Betfair after nine years
Betfair director of corporate and legal affairs Martin Cruddace is to leave the business this year after just shy of a decade at the London-listed operator, Betfair has confirmed to eGaming Review.
Cruddace (pictured), who is also the company secretary, joined Betfair in July 2004 and will step down at an unspecified date in the Autumn. Before joining the business he had spells with London law firm Schillings – where he was a partner – and Mirror Group Newspapers.
Zynga to lay off 18% of workforce
Zynga said it will lay off 18% of its workforce, with around 520 people to lose their jobs, as it embarks on a series of “substantial cost reductions”.
The redundancies alongside the “closure of various office locations”, thought to include the New York, Los Angeles and Dallas studios, is projected to result in “an estimated $70 million to $80 million in pre-tax annualized cash expense savings”.
Cashino operator Praesepe has signed a sponsorship deal with Jade Jones, taekwondo gold medallist at the London 2012 Olympics, which lasts until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Jones will make personal appearances at the firm’s land-based venues and will hold motivational sessions with the company’s staff. Chief executive Nick Harding described her as “the perfect fit” for the company.