People news 14 May 2015
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (8 May to 14 May 2015)
Ladbrokes chairman Peter Erskine steps down
Erskine’s announcement comes just weeks after CEO Richard Glynn’s departure
Ladbrokes chairman Peter Erskine (pictured) has announced he will leave the company before the end of the year, calling it as the “right time” to end his six years in the post.
Senior non-executive director John Kelly has been called upon to lead the search for a new chair while Erskine, who took on the role in 2009, has agreed to work with the board during a transition process.
The announcement comes just weeks after Ladbrokes’ previous chief executive Richard Glynn, a man Erskine had given his full backing to, left the firm following a difficult five years to be replaced by Jim Mullen.
“Since becoming chairman six years ago, Ladbrokes has undertaken the necessary and difficult journey to modernise much of our business operations to enable us to compete more effectively in a rapidly changing digital market and a challenging retail and political environment,” Erskine said in a statement.
Rank appoints former Ladbrokes CEO to board
The Rank Group has appointed former Ladbrokes chief executive, and non-executive chairman of XLMedia, Christopher Bell to its board as senior independent director.
Bell, who will take up the position on 1 June, spent almost two decades at Ladbrokes which culminated in four years as chief executive prior his departure in 2010.
He had previously served as managing director of Ladbrokes Worldwide when the operator was part of the Hilton Group.
Bell is currently independent non-executive chairman of performance media firm XLMedia and helped guide the firm through its flotation on London’s Alternative Investment Market last year.
Isle of Man appoints new head of egaming
The Isle of Man’s (IOM) Department of Economic Development (DED) has named online gaming veteran Mark Robson as its new head of egaming.
Robson has been working in the industry for more than a decade, and has a CV that includes senior executive roles at SHFL Entertainment and Microgaming.
“With over a decade of experience working for some of the biggest and most recognisable companies in the industry, Mark will bring invaluable insight to the team,” Peter Green, CEO of egaming at the DED, said.
Microgaming to build new Isle of Man HQ
Microgaming has begun construction on a new “state-of-the-art” office on the Isle of Man to accommodate the gaming supplier’s growing business.
The new five-storey building will sit adjacent to Microgaming’s existing office, MGS House, and both buildings will be joined by a tower walkway.
Microgaming said the new office has been designed to provide “employees with the environment needed to thrive in business” and the office space will be open plan and laid out with staff in mind.
Unibet‘s Maria subsidiary has appointed its former Sweden country manager Dersim Sylwan as the brand’s new head of marketing.
The head of marketing role was assumed by Sylwan on 1 May to replace Josefine Hybbinette who was promoted to lead the Maria brand last year.
Sylwan has worked at Unibet since April 2013 as Maria.com’s Swedish country manager having previously held roles at Swedish operator Svenska Spel as well bwin.party.
Gaming Realms-owned Quick Think Media (QTM) has appointed former bwin.party affiliate manager Matt Taylor as its new head of affiliates.
Taylor joined the London-based social and digital marketing agency last month having spent over five years in the affiliate gaming industry, working as casino bingo and games affiliate manager at Ladbrokes and more recently at bwin.party.
Taylor told EGR DM he was pleased to head up the firm’s affiliate programme and was “eager to embrace” the opportunities it offered.
Social gaming giant Zynga surprised analysts last week after reporting Q1 2015 financial results that were above guidance, with revenues up 9% to $183m and bookings up 4% to $167m year-on-year.
The firm said it “continued to make progress” towards being a mobile-first company with the channel accounting for 63% of total bookings during the three-month period, up 84% on 2014.
The announcement is the first since CEO Don Mattrick’s abrupt departure earlier this month, which saw Zynga founder and former CEO Mark Pincus surprise many by jumping back into the hot seat.