People news 26 March 2015
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (20 March to 26 March 2015)
Jim Mullen named as Ladbrokes CEO
Ex-Hills man to replace outgoing chief exec Richard Glynn who vacates the role at the end of this month
Ladbrokes has selected its digital MD Jim Mullen to replace outgoing CEO Richard Glynn, bringing to an end its four-month search to fill the role.
The operator announced the appointment last week and Mullen will officially take over the £500,000-a-year role on 1 April.
Mullen’s appointment ends months of speculation as to who would replace Glynn after his departure was announced in December and follows what Ladbrokes chairman Peter Erskine described as an “extensive search” for a successor.
Erskine said that despite interviewing a number of strong external candidates, the board felt Mullen’s digital experience and leadership qualities would prove “invaluable” for the future of the company.
Betfair sports ops director Hagen departs
Betfair’s sports operations director Nick Hagen has left the firm after more than three years in the role.
Hagen joined Betfair in December 2011 to oversee trading operations and Betfair’s risk-based strategy which coincided with the operator launching a fixed-odds sportsbook for the first time.
He was previously at GTECH G2 where he spent three years as director of sports betting and a year as COO of the supplier’s sportsbook business.
More management changes at Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes has appointed former Unibet France country manager Gildas Tanguy as its first permanent digital director for Belgium.
Tanguy, who previously held roles with PokerStars, Betclic and Eurosportbet, started his new Brussels-based position earlier this month where he is reporting into Ladbrokes Belgium managing director Alexis Murphy.
The appointment of Tanguy has freed-up Ladbrokes international digital director Ian Catchick, who had been simultaneously carrying out an interim digital director role in Belgium since launching the business last May.
Mansion rejigs management team as CEO stands aside
Mansion Group has rejigged its management team after announcing long-serving chief executive Guy Gussarsky will stand down from his role on 1 April.
In a statement, Mansion said Gussarsky, who joined the poker and casino operator as CEO in 2007, will take up a position on the board and current chief operating officer Sagi Lahav will be promoted to the top job.
Mansion also revealed Lahav’s COO responsibilities will be handed to director of business development Shelly Hadad, who joined Mansion back in 2008.
PMU names new marketing chief
Pari Mutuel Urbain’s (PMU) has hired Samuel Loiseau from French telecommunications firm SFR as its new director of marketing to replace Cyrille Giraudat.
Loiseau began his role at the former French monopoly on Tuesday and will oversee the company’s digital marketing capabilities and customer services team, while also taking a place on the firm’s board of directors.
Prior to joining PMU Loiseau spent 10 years at tech firm Société Française du Radiotéléphone (SFR) where he held numerous marketing roles including marketing manager, marketing director and most recently brand, market research, and retail director.