With comings and goings commonplace across the industry, Rank, SOFTSWISS and Raketech are among those to have bolstered their teams with key hires.
Rank
Rank Group has appointed Mark Harper as Managing Director of Grosvenor Casinos, where he will oversee Rank’s flagship casino unit from August 14 and join the group’s executive committee.
Harper brings expertise in the management of mass-market leisure and hospitality businesses to the role, having previously served as an Operating Partner of Pears Partnership Capital, part of the William Pears Group, overseeing the PE fund’s leisure and hospitality portfolio.
The appointment of Harper follows the announcement that Debbie Husband is leaving Rank after five years, where she most recently was Managing Director of Grosvenor Casinos.
John O’Reilly, CEO of Rank, commented: “Mark is a hugely experienced hospitality and leisure operator with an extensive track record of success in transforming and leading businesses. I am very much looking forward to working with him, and I am confident that Rank will greatly benefit from his expertise.
“Mark joins us at an exciting time for the land-based casino industry following the recent publication of the Government’s White Paper on gambling reform. We have tremendous talent in the Grosvenor business, and Mark will help us to maximize the opportunities that are becoming available to us.”
SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS has appointed Carla Dualib as a Regional Business Development Manager in the Latin American market focusing on Brazil.
Dualib brings with her a background in sports, innovations and technology and experience in marketing, communication and sales.
Focusing on Brazil, her role will involve scouting for prospects to enhance SOFTSWISS’ casino platform and discover innovative products, as well as “actively engaging in negotiations, fostering seamless collaboration with partners, managing local projects, and participating in regional and global events”.
Commenting on her new role, Dualib said: “I’m very excited to join SOFTSWISS and take on this role in LatAm. Brazil presents tremendous growth opportunities, and I am committed to leveraging my expertise to drive innovation and deliver SOFTSWISS’ top-notch igaming solutions to our clients in the region.
“Together, we will focus on enhancing the betting ecosystem in Brazil, and I am confident that this is a step towards new milestones for the company and local igaming businesses.”
Raketech
Raketech has hired Jacob Felländer as Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications.
Joining the company from a similar role at Maximum Entertainment, Felländer has spent his career at the intersections of communications, finance, and content creation within innovation and tech.
His previous roles include reshaping and transforming the communications models for clients at Accenture and FTI Consulting and as Digital Communications Manager at Sweco Group.
Oskar Mühlbach, CEO of Raketech, stated: “We welcome Jacob to our team, where he will be working in close collaboration with me and the Executive Management Team to shape and lead Raketech’s investor relations strategy going forward.
“On the back of the strong tailwinds we see for igaming affiliation services, and for Raketech’s investment case, we believe that the timing is right to further enhance our engagement with existing and new investors.”
Wynn Resorts
Wynn Resorts has appointed Paul Liu as a member of the company’s Board of Directors as an Independent Director and a Class I member.
Liu will offer his experience in entertainment, hospitality, and financial services both in China and the Asia Pacific region, which includes knowledge of creating guest experiences in the luxury and hospitality fields and an understanding of business talent in the Asia Pacific market.
His previous roles include being a Partner at Egon Zehnder AG, the global leadership consultancy firm focused on executive search, management assessment and board advisory. Here, he led the Services Practice in the Asia Pacific region, focusing on hotels and hospitality, serving multinational and Chinese companies.
Liu has also previously been COO of Anschutz Entertainment Group China, was a Founder and CFO of Three On The Bund, and spent 14 years in finance at JPMorgan, UBS, Peregrine, and Bank of America, in New York and Hong Kong.
MediaTroopers
MediaTroopers has hired a new Business Development Manager in Jonathan Sprung.
With experience in online sports betting and igaming, Sprung will help drive the company’s expansion in digital marketing, driving fresh traffic to the agency with creative new outlooks, business development, new opportunities and strategic planning.
Sprung has previously worked for several gambling operators including PointsBet and Fubo Gaming across DFS, poker and sports betting. He also has experience in the affiliation business.
Commenting on the appointment, MediaTroopers CEO and Co-Founder, Shmulik Segal, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Jonathan to the MediaTroopers team. His industry experience in the affiliation and igaming markets is a welcome addition to the company.
“Also, his expertise and management style will help the company grow alongside the ever-expanding legal US gambling market. More and more states are opening to the idea of regulated sports betting and casino gambling, so we are confident that Jonathan can help lead us forward at the forefront of business development as we launch in new states and legal gambling markets.”
