ENTAIN CEO

11 January, 2024

AUTHOR: Star Sports Content

ENTAIN CEO: Simon Nott & Ben Keith mark your card

Gaming giant Entain are on the look out for a new CEO and starsports.bet have a market on who will get the top job. SIMON NOTT and BEN KEITH look at some of the leading players in the pack alongside their current price in a market that’s already attracting some interest with plenty of price changes ….

? Richard Flint is another who would be right up there in the vanguard if he was a runner. He was huge success as CEO of Skybet and still holds a non-executive director role with Flutter but has his fingers in a lot of pies, most of them non-gambling related, been there done that?

? Andreas Meinrad was well touted for the job last time it was up for grabs. Star saw what they thought must be sharp money for him in 2021, the singe of burnt fingers was proof it wasn’t. He was formally the Chief Commercial Officer for bwin so has the form to be a front runner but has been CEO of BetVictor since 2014 and could be a blatant non trier for this heat.

? Dominic Grounsell has been Chief Commercial Officer with Entain for 18 months and has said he has a proven track record delivering growth, building high performing teams and driving transformations and turnarounds, that that form can be reproduced up in grade, would be exactly what the shareholders are looking for.

? Johnny Hartnett is said by gallop watchers as being highly thought of. He had form with Paddy Power when they were flying and now with super Bet in Romania, it does get nippy out in Eastern Europe in the winter. He is youngish and said to be ambitious.

? Ulrik Bengtsson is another with group class form, he became CCO of Virgin Media O2 in April 2023. Before that was CEO of William Hill joining in 2019. Then in 2021 William Hill was sold for £2.9bn to Caesars Entertainment which basically doubled the firm’s valuation. Not bad for two years work, but may want to make a similar mark in his new position before getting back into the gambling industry.

? Rob Wood was a lively outsider last time but didn’t trouble the judge. City analysts have already Entain’s finance chief, as a possible candidate for the top job and could well be expected to be chomping at the bit for a crack at the new challenge.

? Adam Greenblatt was well-fancied by industry insiders last time but they did their money. He’s another with obvious form credentials reaching great heights as CEO of Bet MGM, well versed with business in the States. He spent seven years as group corporate development director at Ladbrokes so would be a familiar face in the interview room.

? William Hornbuckle is the CEO and President of MGM Resorts International. He has more than 30 years of experience working in Las Vegas where he started out working as a barman and working his was up the ratings, he’d not the sort of runner to underestimate should he decide to declare himself.

? Stella David Entain has asked non-executive director Stella to act as chief executive on an interim basis so it can be assumed that she’s got the form credentials that they are looking for but is vulnerable from any jobbers waiting in the wings for the right offer.

? Paris Smith is a name that gets thrown into equations for jobs like this and certainly has the form lines and class to bolt up in a heat like this. However, she is CEO of Pinnacle Bookmakers and has nurtured the firm as it’s grown, lives in the Caribbean and a big price that she fancies Gibraltar instead.

? David O’Reilly

? William Woodhams

? Conor Grant

? Ricky Sandler

? Tom Waterhouse is an antipodean powerhouse with a formidable bookmaking bloodline with the enviable added blacktype of a punting prodigy too. Despite being a household name back home in Australia, he’d still be a big price to land this but over the years people have learned at their cost not to underestimate a Waterhouse.

? Nick Rust did well at the BHA, he’s got the opportunity to get back into bookmaking with this role having been senior at both Coral and SkyBet. He’s well regarded in the UK would be popular with the Gambling Commission of which he is chair, has the form to win if off.

? Richard Ames has been very successful joining SIS in 2016 as Interim Product Director before being made CEO in June 2017. He’d be a fancied runner if he was declared but having been dismissed ‘with immediate effect’ from Ladbrokes’ online division in 2012 might have a Timeform squiggle against his name within Entain.

? Josh Apiafi began his career at the roots working for the legendary Martin Pipe. When he turned his attention to business he saw the potential of the Betfair betting exchange and became CEO of the PJA then founded ‘Rewards4Racing’ which was a big winner. He’d be up for taking on the challenge.

? Julie Harrington

? Martin Cruddace

? Breon Corcoran was CEO of Paddy Power Betfair for a couple of years and has since been out of the game after reportedly copping £4.1 million for the sale of his Betfair shares. He has a double handful at the moment with London Stock Exchange listed Auction Technology Group of which he is non-executive chairman.

? Andrew Rhodes

? Alan Delmonte everyone likes Alan the personable Chief Executive of the Horse Racing Betting Levy Board, his financial knowhow got racing through some tough times and out the other. He’d be a huge asset to Entain but a massive loss to horse racing, let’s hope he’s a non-jigger

? Ralph Topping

? Peter Jackson has the top job at Flutter where he’s made a big impact, would he want to start again and sort out the competition? That’s the big question, if we knew the answer was a yes a bullseye would be massive but the guess is he’s not.

? Stephen Morana

? Michael Dugher

? Michael Leadbeater

? David Williams

? Tom Kerr

? Bruce Millington

? Fred Done has certainly got the ability and confidence to take on the job, but you’d fear he take the interviewer’s seat, doubtful he’d be a runner. Star boss Ben Keith has made a video championing Fred’s chance but it was more likely an excuse to go to Oslo Court with a tenuous link, Ben ordering the cheese board would be a shorter price.

? Gary Woodgate is liked and respected by anyone who has had the pleasure to deal with him. He is the calm in the storm and the sanity in the madness, with Star Sports at the very beginning and considered by Ben as the best operator in the business. The caveat is that he’s retired and isn’t likely to head back into the melee?

? Rod Street

? Paul Louis is someone who if you cut in half he’d probably have VC written right through him like a stick of Brighton Rock. He worked with the last Victor as he built the business and grew through the ranks under the current management. Would he fancy becoming the competition possibly taking on his current boss?