People news 15 May 2014
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (2 May to 8 May 2014)
Patrick Kennedy to step down as Paddy Power CEO
Irish operator reveals chief exec’s intention to leave next April after 10-year tenure
Paddy Power has announced its chief executive Patrick Kennedy is to leave next year after more than a decade at the company.
Kennedy joined the Dublin-based firm in an executive role in September 2005 from food company Greencore Group before taking up the role of CEO in January 2006.
“It is as fun and as interesting a job as anyone could hope to have, and I have had the privilege of working with some enormously talented and supportive people over the years that I’ve been here,” Kennedy said.
“I have always had a personal view that after 10 years at the helm, change is good, both for the business and the individual,” he added.
Glynn receives backing from Ladbrokes shareholders
Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn received strong shareholder backing at the operator’s annual general meeting despite the continued soft performance of its online division.
While just 68.56% of available voting rights were used, 99.9% of those that did vote were in favour of Glynn remaining as a director and 98% approved the remuneration policy.
The backing comes following the first signs of a turnaround for Ladbrokes digital division with the move to the Playtech IMS ahead of schedule and a successful re-launch of its mobile product early this year.
Seven days in people news:
Ader’s bwin.party board changes get independent backing
The activist investor attempting to make substantial changes to bwin.party’s executive board said today he is “gratified” after two independent proxy advisory firms backed his directorial nominations.
Jason Ader, who owns 5.25% of bwin.party shares through his SpringOwl investment firm, made four nominations to the operator’s board last month after claiming a management overhaul was required.
Three of the nominated candidates “ including Michael Fertik, Francis Grady and Steven Rittvo “ have today received vigorous backing Glass Lewis & Co, which along with ISS have been hired by as advisors by Ader.
Casumo co-founder preps “next level” casino venture
The co-founder of acclaimed operator Casumo is launching his own venture, which he says will attract an entirely new audience into online casino and slots.
Georg Westin, who set up Casumo in 2012 having previously served as CTO at both Betsson and Betsafe, will launch CasinoSaga in two weeks’ time on desktop and as native applications for iPad and iPhone devices.
The game puts players at the centre of a fictional island where they can progress to different levels by playing real-money slot games and defeating ‘bosses’ in order to complete missions and gain rewards.
888poker signs Luis Suarez as global ambassador
888poker announced Liverpool and Uruguay international footballer Luis Suarez has become its global brand ambassador in time for a big push during the FIFA World Cup.
The deal will see the Barclay’s Premier League’s top goal scorer for the 2013/2014 season lead various branding initiatives during the tournament, while 888poker players will also have the opportunity to compete against Suarez via online tournaments.
He was officially unveiled at a press conference in Barcelona yesterday and 888’s head of B2C Itai Pazner said the operator was pleased to sign up one of the world’s best footballers.