People news 3 October 2013
The latest people moves from the egaming industry in the last seven days (27 September to 3 October 2013)
Paddy Power appoints former government SPAD Adam Smith
Former special adviser to ex-Department for Culture, Media and Sport minister Jeremy Hunt joins Irish operator as head of external communications
Paddy Power has appointed Adam Smith as head of external communications, leading the Irish operator’s fresh communications approach.
Smith left his former role as special adviser to ex-Department for Culture, Media and Sport minister Jeremy Hunt last year during the Leveson Inquiry, during which he was criticised for developing too strong a relationship with News Corporation’s public affairs director Fred Michel.
PR Week reports that Smith will join the Irish operator’s new in-house team headed by former Foreign Office senior diplomat Catherine Colloms who joined in January, tasked with aiding the company in maintaining a bigger input into regulatory affairs.
The company appointed PR agency RLM Finsbury as its new adviser regarding financial PR, corporate communications and public affairs last week, replacing previous account holder Powerscourt.
Unibet hires former Swedish regulator COO
Swedish-listed operator Unibet has appointed Former Swedish Gambling Authority COO Peter Alling to the newly created role of head of public affairs for its Nordic market operations.
Alling joins the company from the Swedish Gambling Authority, where he most recently held the role of chief operating officer, and was previously secretary of the latest Swedish Inquiry on Gambling in 2008.
Commenting on the appointment, Unibet CEO Henrik Tjärnström said Alling would be an important addition to the company as it prepares for further European regulatory discussions.
“We are very pleased to have Peter with us. He brings significant expertise in the gambling market and its regulations,” he said.
Seven days in people news:
Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker owner Rational Group has appointed former Betfair director of gaming Sam Hobcraft as its casino director. Hobcraft had been at Betfair since 2005 and had previously worked at Ladbrokes as general manager of online marketing.
Betfair Group non-executive director Zillah Byng-Maddick has been hired as chief financial officer of Future plc. Byng-Maddick, who was previously CFO and CEO at Trading Media Group, will take up her new role from 18 November.