People news 20 February 2014
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (14 February to 20 February 2014)
William Hill plays down talk of early Topping exit
UK bookmaker describes reports CEO’s departure has been brought forward as “conjecture” although confirms search for a replacement is underway
William Hill has played down UK press reports that chief executive Ralph Topping is set to leave the firm by the end of 2014 with a spokesman saying Topping was “committed” to the business into 2015.
Although a spokesperson for the company told eGaming Review the bookmaker had begun its search for a replacement, it said this was part of “prudent” process of finding a replacement for Topping by the end of 2015.
“Ralph has previously indicated his intention to retire by the end of 2015,” the spokesperson said. “The Board has an ongoing process to identify his successor from among both internal and external candidates.
“The Board prudently instigated this process two years ahead of Ralph’s backstop date to give plenty of time to identify the right candidate, allowing for their potentially lengthy notice period, and to ensure a smooth transition.”
Nektan makes ex-bwin.party and Betfair management hires
Mobile games developer Netkan has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Dominic Le Garsmeur and Simon Teppett, formerly of bwin.party and Betfair respectively.
Le Garsmeur takes on the role of product director, a position left vacant by the relocation of Richard Sagman to set up Nektan’s US operation.
He joins from bwin.party where he was responsible for overseeing the product management teams of PartyGaming’s casino, bingo and sportsbook products.
Seven days in people news:
Betfair appoints third CTO in five years
Betfair has appointed BskyB’s former director of software engineering Paul Cutter as its new chief technology officer, the third person to take on the role in last five years.
Cutter, who has also held senior tech roles at AOL Europe, assumes responsibility for Betfair’s technology teams based in London, Portugal and Romania and its ongoing product initiatives.
He takes over from Phil Dixon who has returned to his native California after 12 months as CTO.
Winamax confirms no replacement for Frichet
Winamax has clarified its new management structure following the departure of the French operator’s director general Canel Frichet to confirm there will be no direct replacement for her role.
A spokesperson for the operator confirmed to eGaming Review that rather than replace Frichet, her responsibilities have been filled by the firm’s current managing directors Alexandre Roos and Christophe Schaaming.
Schaaming joined Winamax as managing director in March 2005, while Roos has been with the firm in the same capacity since 2009.
Harris Hagan appoints DOGA chief exec
Morten Ronde, the chief executive of the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA), has taken up a position as consultant with London-based law firm Harris Hagan.
Ronde, who also holds the position of executive director at the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA), has joined the firm’s international regulatory practice as part of its strategy to boost its expertise in overseas jurisdictions.
Before taking up his roles at DOGA and the IAGA, Ronde spent more than ten years as legal counsel to Danish regulatory body the Danish Gambling Authority where he advised on the set-up of its locally regulated market.
SIS Betting has appointed Marc Thomas as head of product to oversee the development and marketing of new services and solutions for online bookmakers.
Thomas joins the firm after holding the role of head of product development at Sportingbet and was previously sportsbook product manager at William Hill where he worked for 13 years.
“My aim is to take SIS’ core competences and expand our product range, profile and customers,” Thomas said. “There are hundreds of operators out there who would be interested both in our existing services and the new data and streaming products that we can develop.”