With comings and goings commonplace across the industry, Checkd Group, Galaxy Entertainment and UKGC have moved to bolster their teams with key hires.
Gambling Commission
David Rossington has been named as the Interim Commissioner of the Gambling Commission on a nine month term after being appointed by Secretary of State Suella Braverman.
Rossington is a former senior civil servant, and has worked for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, including as Finance Director and acting Director General, and other government departments including what is now known as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Since stopping full time work, he has assisted the Gambling Commission as an independent member of the National Lottery Competition Committee, and is also deputy chair of the Advisory Committee on National Records and Archives, which works with The National Archives.
The board of Entain has announced that Mark Gregory and Vicky Jarman will no longer serve as non-executive directors of the gambling group.
The NED duo who joined Entain in 2021 have both given notice of their decision to step down from all corporate governance duties as of February 17, 2023.
The departures see Entain reduce the size of its board from eleven to nine members, which includes Jette Nygaard-Andersen and Rob Wood.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Mark and Vicky for the important contributions both have made to Entain and wish them well for the future.” – read a statement by Entain Chair Barry Gibson.
Galaxy Entertainment Group
Ted Chan has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Galaxy Entertainment Group, taking over the reins from Robert Drake who had signalled an intention to depart the position.
The latter will continue contributing to the group in his newly appointed position of Senior Advisor, in addition to aid a translation process that will see Chan assume the role from March 1, 2023.
Francis Lui, Vice Chair of GEG, commented: “I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr. Drake for his significant contribution to the Group over the past 15 years who has decided to pursue his personal interests.
“During his tenure Bob contributed to a number of significant milestones including: navigating the company through the global financial crises and the COVID-19 pandemic, inclusion of GEG as a constituent of the Hang Seng Index, opening Galaxy Macau phases one and two and Broadway Macau, and, most recently, the successful issuance of GEG’s new Macau gaming concession and preparation of the forthcoming opening of our Cotai phase three development.
“I would like to express my sincere appreciation for his significant efforts and contributions to the Group over his many long years of service and look forward to continuing our relationship with Bob as a Senior Advisor.”
Checkd Group
Sam Turnock has been promoted to the role of Finance Director at Checked Group, with the company looking to accelerate growth via a slew of business strategies.
This new role for Turnock, who joined the group in Jube 2019, will see him head up the business intelligence area of the organisation, while also managing all of the group’s finances across its Checkd Media, Checkd Dev and Checkd International subsidiaries.
Alex Beecham, Managing Director at Checkd Media, said: “The position of Finance Director is a vital one as we continue to scale up our operations in both the UK and North America.
“It was important that we identified a candidate who has a strong track record in analysing and making valuable decisions that are grounded in data.
“Sam fit the bill for us in every regard. His performance since first joining our business four years ago has been exemplary, as we have seen with his key role in the FlashPicks launch and the acquisition of all of our CPA state licences.
“He has also been a vital figure within the contract and procurement side of the business and we look forward to delivering further growth together in the months and years to come.”
MyRacehorse
MyRacehorse has appointed former Betfair horse racing principal Will De Nardo as its UK and Ireland Marketing Director and Global Gaming Lead.
A US-founded enterprise, MyRacehorse is seeking to strengthen and expand its presence in the established horse racing markets of the UK and Ireland, with De Nardo charged with leveraging his betting industry experience in pursuit of this goal.
“Will brings an additional and important marketing skill set to our UK and Ireland business due to his invaluable experience at Flutter,” noted Jules Pittam, Managing Partner of MyRacehorse, UK and Ireland.
“He will be influential in enhancing the owner experience as well as working with new partners as he develops gaming opportunities around the world. We are delighted to have someone of such high calibre join the team.”
