Sky Bet rejigs senior team following Sporting Index hire
Operator hires Ronnie Whelan for trading director position as firm promotes Tim Bishop to new MD role
Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) has appointed former Sporting Index COO Ronnie Whelan (pictured) as its new trading director, with incumbent Tim Bishop stepping up to become managing director of SB&G operations, eGaming Review can reveal.
Whelan, who resigned from his current business development director role for Sporting Index B2B arm Sporting Solutions last summer, will join the Leeds-headquartered firm on 1 May where he will report directly into Bishop.
Bishop is currently director of trading and operations but will take on the newly created MD role upon Whelan’s arrival at the firm. The two men are already familiar with each other through SB&G’s relationship with Sporting Solutions.
“I’ve worked closely with Ronnie for five years whilst he was at Sporting Solutions and have come to know him well,” Bishop told EGR.
“They will remain a key supplier for SB&G but when I heard he was available I jumped at the chance to add such a well-respected and experienced member to our team,” he added.
Whelan, who spent more than a decade at Sporting Index, including a three-and-a-half year stint as chief operating officer from 2008, will leave the firm at the end of the month.
“I have really enjoyed my time at Sporting Index and have had the pleasure of working with some great people and partners at both Sporting Index and Sporting Solutions,” Whelan said.
“After five years helping the development and growth of Sporting Solutions into a market leading B2B brand I felt it was the right time to move back to B2C and Sky Bet gives me a fantastic opportunity to do that.”
Whelan’s appointment will see him reunited with Andy Wright, who SB&G gaming also hired from Sporting Index as head of football trading in 2014.
Meanwhile, Whelan’s exit marks the second big name departure from Sporting Index this week after EGR on Tuesday reported chief executive Warren Murphy had resigned.