People news 23 February 2017

Ladbrokes Aus puts trading director in interim control

Jason Scott will take the CEO reins on short-term basis while a long-term successor to Dean Shannon is sought

Ladbrokes Australia trading director Jason Scott has been appointed the operator’s interim chief executive following the recent departures of CEO Dean Shannon and COO Paul Cherry.

According to sources, Ladbrokes Coral CEO Jim Mullen flew in from London at the start of last week to review his management options following the surprise departure of Cherry, who was last year selected to succeed Shannon.

Mullen, who has since returned to the UK, decided to appoint Scott interim leader of the Australia-facing business while a long-term successor is sought.

Although Ladbrokes Coral declined to comment, it is thought the operator is looking for an external candidate to replace Shannon, who announced last year he would be stepping down this month.

Read more…

Cherry appoints Holmgren as CEO on full-time basis

Cherry has appointed Anders Holmgren as CEO on a full-time basis following the departure of Fredrik Burvall earlier this year, the company announced this week.

Holmgren, one of the Betsson Group co-founders, was initially installed as acting CEO last month after former chief Burvall decided to step down from the role due to “family reasons”.

The newly-appointed CEO said he was looking forward to developing Cherry as a “fast-growing company” as well as managing the “strong positions” Cherry holds across all its business areas.

“As a member of the Board of Directors of Cherry AB, I have had the benefit of observing this exciting company and all the development possibilities it holds,” said Holmgren.

Read more…

Seven days in people news:

Codeta boosts “Netflix of live casino” ambitions with CTO hire

Codeta has appointed former Tain CEO Patrik Svensson to the newly-created role of chief technology officer (CTO) as part of the operator’s plans to become the “Netflix of live casino”.

Svensson has been tasked with taking the live casino operator’s desktop and mobile platforms “to the next level”, which will include using Google Machine Learning and the Facebook front-end platform, React.js.

The new CTO has 15 years’ experience in online gambling and technology, becoming CEO of platform and content provider Tain in 2003 and founding Nordic bingo site Bertil Bingo in 2007.

Read more…

Aristocrat promotes Matt Wilson to MD of the Americas

Aristocrat has promoted Matt Wilson to the position of managing director of the Americas, the provider announced Tuesday.

Wilson, who has been with Aristocrat since 2004, will be based in Las Vegas once his appointment receives regulatory approval.

Prior to the promotion, Wilson was senior vice-president of global gaming operations, where he helped to grow the company’s gaming operations with “landmark new titles”, according to Aristocrat.

He previously served as vice president of marketing for the Americas, and then as senior vice president of sales and marketing for North America.

Read more…