People news 3 December 2015
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (27 November to 3 December 2015)
GVC hires Gala Coral’s Shay Segev as COO
Former Playtech COO Segev will join GVC in March and oversee the firm’s merger with bwin.party
GVC Holdings has appointed Shay Segev as chief operating officer just five months after the former Playtech COO joined Gala Coral as chief strategy officer.
Segev will take up his new position on 1 March and will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s merger with bwin.party and particularly the integration of its sportsbook platform.
Incumbent COO Jim Humberstone will switch to the role of group head of trading and operations, and will oversee trading, customer services, payments and B2B.
GVC described Segev as one of the leading technology and product experts in online gaming and pointed to the experience gained from stints at both Playtech and Gala Coral.
Paddy Power Betfair seeks £25m in workforce cuts
Paddy Power and Betfair look set to make significant cuts to their combined workforce in order to meet half of the estimated £50m cost synergies expected from their proposed merger, a circular issued to Betfair shareholders has revealed.
According to the circular, a combined Paddy Power Betfair would achieve cost savings of £25m by reducing its headcount, with the other half coming from non-payroll related efficiencies in IT, property, services and marketing.
However both operators said their evaluation of cost synergies were at a preliminary stage and proposals of how they would be implemented had not been developed, including how specific employees or locations may be effected.
Seven days in people news:
William Hill live casino chief makes Playtech switch
Playtech has appointed ex-William Hill man Kevin Kilminster as its new head of live casino innovation.
Kilminster joins the international supplier’s London office after almost four years at William Hill, most recently as the operator’s head of live casino and Vegas.
He will take responsibility of customer relations, studio and product development, as well as business development and sales of Playtech’s live casino offering.
Intertain names Cornides as chief revenue officer
Intertain Group has named former Mandalay Media managing director Irina Cornides as the new chief revenue officer of its Intertain Bahamas operating arm.
Cornides officially took up the newly created role on 1 November and is responsible for integrating the various companies acquired by Intertain and harnessing synergies across the group.
“I will focus on a number of projects to bring our companies closer together, identifying opportunities for growth, collaboration as well as cost savings,” Cornides told eGR.
William Hill hires Adam French to lead bingo overhaul
William Hill has appointed MeccaBingo.com’s former head of bingo Adam French to the operator’s newly created senior bingo operations manager role.
French, who took up the new Gibraltar-based role earlier this month, will report into director of gaming operations Nick Gabriel and take on responsibility for executing the operator’s plans to overhaul its bingo offering.
As reported by eGR in September, William Hill is aiming to revitalise its bingo product with a new website, leveraging its proprietary slots games and launching new bespoke and branded bingo content.
Wilsenach to leave Alderney Gambling Control Commission
Alderney Gambling Control Commission’s (AGCC) long-serving executive director André Wilsenach is to leave the regulator after taking a job at the new International Center for Gaming Regulation at the University of Nevada.
Wilsenach has been at the AGCC for 14 years and will leave at the end of January 2016.
Lord Richard Faulkner, appointed chairman of the regulator last year, said Wilsenach’s move was a “huge compliment” to the AGCC given the University of Nevada Las Vegas is “such a highly prestigious academic centre”.
Cherry rejigs management team with Sony Pictures hire
Cherry has reorganised its digital management team following the hire of former Universal Sony Pictures Nordic MD Jonas Wåhlander as chief executive of the company’s online gaming division.
Wåhlander officially joined the Swedish operator on Tuesday after working for nine years at Sony Pictures, where he held roles including finance director and managing director for the Nordics.
“I’m really looking forward to joining a loyal, best in class team in Malta to continue to drive the business forward; it’s a tremendously exciting opportunity,” Wåhlander said.
Betfair SEO expert makes Oddschecker move
Oddschecker has appointed Betfair’s senior SEO marketing manager Ryan Murton as the sports betting affiliate’s head of digital marketing.
Murton, who officially takes up the newly created role tomorrow, will oversee the Sky Betting & Gaming-owned firm’s online marketing department and report directly into managing director Toby Bentall.
Speaking to eGR, Murton said he was attracted to the role at Oddschecker because the company had always “been at the forefront” of egaming affiliate marketing.