With comings and goings commonplace across the industry, Caesars Entertainment, Bragg Gaming and Sportradar are among those to have seen changes to their teams recently.
Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment has appointed Kim Harris Jones to its board of directors, growing its board membership count to 10.
Harris Jones brings experience in strategic corporate leadership to Caesars, both as an executive and a board member. She retired from Mondelez International as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller in 2015 after it was spun off from Kraft Foods, where she had worked since 2009 as SVP and Corporate Controller.
“Kim Harris Jones is a tremendous addition to the Caesars Entertainment leadership team,” commented Gary Carano, Executive Chair of the Board at Caesars Entertainment.
“With her extensive experience in finance and a reputation as a thoughtful and engaged leader inside some of the largest consumer-packaged goods and automotive companies, Kim’s addition will give us another lens through which to see stronger, more dynamic future possibilities for Caesars Entertainment.”
Before Kraft, Harris Jones spent 17 years at Chrysler, holding several leadership positions including Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller. She also worked at General Motors for six years and has been featured in publications such as BoardProspects Magazine, CFO Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine and Savoy Magazine.
Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, added: “I’m pleased to count Kim Harris Jones among our board of directors. Kim shares our vision for strategic, collaborative innovation. She has outstanding experience navigating complex issues and implementing transformation for optimisation.
“I look forward to working with her, the rest of our board, and the management team to continue to drive results for our guests, our team members, and our shareholders.”
Bragg Gaming
Bragg Gaming Group has appointed Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer, bringing over 18 years of igaming experience to the company’s leadership team.
Whyte most recently worked as CCO at Digital Gaming Corporation for its B2B igaming division, helping to launch and grow its content distribution business in the US. He has also held roles at Apricot Investments, Genera Networks and Microgaming.
Matevž Mazij, CEO at Bragg, commented: “I am very pleased to be announcing today the appointment of Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg. His igaming product and market knowledge, together with his record in driving growth from developing successful and mutually beneficial commercial partnerships are exceptional.
“As we leverage our broad content and product portfolio to grow in existing and new markets, including in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Neill’s unique combination of knowledge, skills and experience in this sector are a perfect fit for our ambitions at Bragg.”
At Bragg, Whyte will lead the company’s global commercial teams to drive growth across all product verticals, including proprietary online casino content, exclusive content from partners, the HUB casino content aggregation platform, Fuze player engagement and its player account management platform and turnkey solutions.
Whyte added: “It’s an honour to join Matevž and the wider teams at Bragg already in place across North America, Europe and India. I have been impressed with the depth and quality of the content, product and technology offerings at Bragg, and its ability to rapidly adapt, certify and deploy this content and technology in newly regulated markets is a distinct advantage.
“We also have a huge opportunity to grow our footprint with our existing customers in markets in which we are already established. Our content and product roadmaps are second to none, and I’m planning to get on the road in the coming weeks and months to meet the team and our customers and to start building for the next stage of mutual growth. I can’t wait to get going.”
White Hat Gaming
White Hat Gaming has appointed Justin Psaila as its new Chief Financial Officer.
Psaila brings nearly two decades’ worth of industry experience to the company after spending eight years at Betsson Group and almost nine years in his previous CFO role at Gaming Innovation Group.
Phillip Gelvan, CEO of White Hat Gaming, said: “We are delighted to announce that Justin Psaila will be joining the White Hat Gaming team as CFO. Justin is well respected in the industry, and I have no doubt his appointment will strengthen our already impressive executive team.
“White Hat is consistently working to deliver on its global expansion goals, and Justin will be key in ensuring the company’s financial objectives are attained.”
Overseeing White Hat’s financial division, Psaila will assist the provider in enhancing its operations globally, particularly in the US.
Commenting on his appointment, Psaila said: “I am very happy to be starting my new position as Group Chief Financial Officer at White Hat Gaming.
“I am joining a brilliant team and look forward to helping deliver on White Hat’s ambitious growth plans across the US and beyond.”
Sportradar
Behshad Behzadi has been named Sportradar Group’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer.
Based at Sportradar’s headquarters in Switzerland and reporting to CEO Carsten Koerl, Behzadi will help drive the usage and adoption of AI and technology to enhance its product offerings and roadmap to deliver hyper-personalized experiences for sports fans.
He will also use his experience in leading initiatives aimed at improving internal operational efficiency to help optimise processes and drive innovation across the business.
Koerl said: “We are proud to welcome Behshad, a world-renowned leader in harnessing generative AI and other advanced technologies, who marries a unique blend of technical expertise and business acumen.
“His proven track record in developing and commercialising product strategies to accelerate growth and innovation, as well as spearheading initiatives aimed at improving internal operational efficiency, will bolster our leadership position, keeping Sportradar at the forefront of technological advancement.”
Behzadi brings over 20 years of experience to Sportradar, having previously worked for Google Zurich, playing a key role in Google’s AI-first strategy as Co-Founder of Google Assistant, Google Lens, Google Smart Display and the Next Gen Assistant. Most recently, he led Google Cloud’s Conversational AI and applied Generative AI initiative.
Behzadi said: “Sportradar is an exceptional company and category leader operating at the global intersection of sports, technology and digital content. I am very excited to join an organization that pushes the boundaries on technology and puts a premium on innovation.
“I look forward to working alongside Carsten, the rest of the executive management team and their talented group of creators to continue Sportradar’s history of innovation as the Company enters its next exciting chapter.”
Continent 8 Technologies
Continent 8 Technologies has appointed Jamie Garcia as a Regional Sales Director.
Garcia brings over 10 years of experience to Continent 8, having held senior positions at the likes of Scientific Games and Williams Gaming. She joins from Gaming Laboratories International where she was a Senior Account Executive.
Commenting on her new role, Garcia said: “My skillset is ideally suited to the role of Regional Sales Director. I’m looking forward to using the experience and expertise I have built over my career to provide even more support and value to our customers.
“North America is an incredibly exciting market with big opportunities for operators and suppliers to explore, but they need the regulatory guidance and technical infrastructure and cybersecurity creativity for their iGaming and online sports betting requirements, and that’s exactly what Continent 8 provides.”
At Continent 8, Garcia will be responsible for driving infrastructure growth and cybersecurity opportunities in the igaming and online sports betting market, supporting new strategic sales initiatives to benefit the company’s service portfolio.
Brian Koh, CCO at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “Jamie has a proven track record at high-calibre organisations such as GLI and Scientific Games.
“This is just the sort of expertise we want to bring to our organization and US sales team. This is a market that has shown tremendous growth potential, and we want to continue to support our customers in the new and upcoming regulated states in which they operate.
“With Jamie on board, we can deepen the relationships we have with our customers and ensure they are getting the most out of the infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions and services we provide.”
Lightning Box Games
David Little has announced that he is leaving Lightning Box Games.
In a LinkedIn post, Little stated that he would be stepping down from his position as Director of the slots content supplier, a company which he co-founded in 2004 alongside CEO Peter Causley.
Little said: “After 20 incredible years, the time has come for me to step back from Lightning Box, a company I had the privilege of co-founding and building alongside some outstanding individuals. As I move on to new ventures, I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who has been instrumental in our journey and success.
“As Lightning Box continues to flourish under new ownership, I am proud to see the legacy we built together reaching new heights. Thank you to the entire “Box” team and everyone at Light and Wonder for making it an absolute pleasure to work with.
“For now, a deserved break. For the future, stay tuned.”