For Release at 7.00am
4 April 2024
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIES AS
INSIDE INFORMATION
Entain
plc
("Entain"
or the "Group")
Chairman
Succession
Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the global
sports betting and gaming group, announces that Barry Gibson has
given notice that he wishes to retire from his role as Chair and
from the Board. Barry will step down by the end of September
2024, and potentially earlier depending on the timing of the
appointment of a permanent CEO. The search for a permanent
CEO is ongoing and is progressing well.
A process to identify his
replacement has been part of the Board's ongoing succession
planning, and it is pleased to announce that Stella David will
become Chair on Barry's retirement. Stella was a
non-executive director and Senior Independent Director from 4 March
2021 and became interim CEO of Entain in December 2023.
Barry was appointed to the Board of
Entain in November 2019 and became Chair in February 2020.
During his time as Chair, Barry has played an integral role
in the transformation from GVC to Entain, which has included a
significant improvement in the quality of the Group's operations,
revenues, governance processes, and procedures. He has also
overseen the renewal of the Board, the Group's focus on operating
only in regulated or regulating markets, and the resolution of the
HMRC investigation into the Group's legacy Turkish facing
operations. During his tenure, the Group has grown its EBITDA
by over 50% to approximately £1bn in 2023, and its US joint
venture, BetMGM, has gone from a start-up to being a $2bn revenue
business with a strong market position and outstanding growth
prospects.
Pierre Bouchut, Senior Independent
Director, commented: "Barry has worked tirelessly to navigate the
company through numerous challenges, and on behalf of everyone
connected with Entain I would like to sincerely thank him for his
enormous contribution to this business. The Board has been
succession planning and reviewing potential options to replace him
and we are delighted that Stella will be taking over as
Chair. Her extensive Board and Chair experience as well as
her time as Interim CEO will be hugely beneficial to the Board and
the wider Group as she takes on her new role."
Barry Gibson, Chairman commented:
"It has been a privilege to lead the Board of Entain for the past
four years, and while I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at this
dynamic, exciting and innovative business, I reflected a little
while ago that 2024 would be the right time for me to retire.
I am delighted that, in Stella, Entain has an exceptional
successor who knows the business well and has already proven
herself to be a firm hand on the tiller in her role as Interim
CEO."
Stella David, Interim CEO,
commented: "Barry has been a wonderful mentor and source of wise
counsel to so many people during his time as Chair of Entain, and I
would like to personally thank him for his unwavering support.
The fact that we now have a solid platform and a clear plan
for future growth is due in no small part to his efforts. I
am entirely focused on my role as interim CEO as we work to
accelerate our operational strategy, and look forward to taking
over the baton from Barry in due course."
Further information about Stella David
Stella has been interim CEO of
Entain since December 2023 and was previously a non-executive
director and Senior Independent Director from 4 March 2021.
She is a non-executive director of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Ltd where she is also chair of the Nominating and Governance
Committee, and is a non-executive director of the privately-owned
Bacardi Ltd. She was previously CEO of William Grant &
Sons, following more than 15 years with Bacardi Ltd. She was
chair of C&J Clark Ltd (having previously acted as interim
chief executive officer), chair of Vue International, non-executive
director and senior independent director of HomeServe plc,
non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at the
Nationwide Building Society, and non-executive director of Domino's
Pizza Group plc.
Enquiries:
Inside Information
This announcement contains
information that qualifies as inside information within the meaning
of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it
forms part of English law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018. The person responsible for releasing
this announcement on behalf of the Company is Simon Zinger, General
Counsel. Upon the publication of this announcement via a
regulatory information service, this inside information is now
considered to be in the public domain.
About Entain plc
Entain plc (LSE: ENT) is a FTSE100
company and is one of the world's largest sports betting and gaming
groups, operating both online and in the retail sector. The Group
owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports brands
include BetCity, bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds,
Sportingbet, Sports Interaction, STS, SuperSport and TAB NZ; Gaming
brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala, GiocoDigitale, Ninja Casino,
Optibet, Partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary
technology across all its core product verticals and in addition to
its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party
customers on a B2B basis.
The Group has a 50/50 joint venture,
BetMGM, a leader in sports betting and iGaming in the US. Entain
provides the technology and capabilities which power BetMGM as well
as exclusive games and products, specially developed at its
in-house gaming studios. The Group is tax resident in the UK and is
the only global operator to exclusively operate in domestically
regulated or regulating markets operating in over 30
territories.
Entain is a leader in ESG, a member
of FTSE4Good, the DJSI and is AA rated by MSCI. The Group has set a
science-based target, committing to be carbon net zero by 2035 and
through the Entain Foundation supports a variety of initiatives,
focusing on safer gambling, grassroots sport, diversity in
technology and community projects. For more information see the
Group's website: www.entaingroup.com.
LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28