People news 16 June 2016
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (10 June to 16 June 2016)
Jamie Hart joins Tabcorp to lead Sun Bets brand
Former Hills’ man will begin executive director role on completion of gardening leave in August
Jamie Hart (pictured) has agreed to join Tabcorp to lead the Australian operator’s European push, including its soon-to-be-launched Sun Bets brand in partnership with News UK.
eGaming Review understands Hart, who parted ways with William Hill in February, will become executive director for Tabcorp’s European arm and will begin his new role on 22 August.
Hart currently has a further two months gardening leave to run following his departure at Hills, after which he will be free to spearhead the Sun Bets project.
The hire of Hart will be a seen a major coup for Tabcorp and signals the operator’s intent to shake-up the UK sportsbook market.
NetEnt CFO Hedengren departs
NetEnt chief financial officer Maria Hedengren is to leave after nearly five-years, the Swedish supplier announced last week.
Hedengren will retain her responsibilities until she leaves her position, when she is set to become CFO of an as-yet unnamed company.
Hedengren has been with the firm since 2011, joining from computer software company IBS where she held the role of head of group control.
Seven days in people news:
Amaya plans to appoint David Lazzarato to its board after Paul McFeeters announced he will be unable to serve as a director of the firm due to personal reasons.
Paul McFeeters, who will submit his letter of resignation after Amaya’s annual meeting, will be replaced as director by David Lazzarato.
Lazzarato is a media and broadcast industry consultant who assists companies in the areas of strategy development, mergers and acquisitions and financing.
Social games developer Zynga has appointed Electronic Arts (EA) veteran as its new president of publishing.
Kim will report directly to Zynga’s chief executive officer Frank Gibeau and oversee the San Francisco-based firm’s entire publishing business.
“I’ve worked with Bernard over the years on some of gaming’s biggest mobile titles,” said Gibeau.
“He’s been on the frontlines of major platform shifts and business transitions over the last decade, and I believe his experience in games and digital entertainment will help accelerate our execution.”