Greece appoints new OPAP chief
Economist Konstantinos Louropoulos will oversee sale of 29% state-owned OPAP stake after replacing Ioannis Spanoudakis.
The Greek government has appointed former finance minister Konstantinos Louropoulos as the new chairman and CEO of OPAP, replacing Ioannis Spanoudakis, who leaves the role after almost three years in charge of the gaming monopoly.
Key management changes at Greece’s state-linked companies often occur following a general election “ which took place in June, won by the Néa DimokratÃa party “ and the appointment of a new chief executive for OPAP was widely anticipated.
The sale of OPAP is likely to remain the key focus for economist Louropoulos, with the process expected to start in early autumn. The Greek government intends to sell a 29% stake in the betting operator “ thought to be worth as much as $1bn “ leaving it owning just 5%.
Spanoudakis was appointed CEO of OPAP in December 2009 and has overseen a number of key changes at the operator.
Having instigated plans to enter the online gambling space earlier this year and to expand its services into a number of regulated markets across Europe, OPAP announced it had selected GTECH G2 as its joint venture partner last month. The move into egaming is hoped to provide a much needed boost to revenues, which have suffered as economic conditions took their toll.
Spanoudakis oversaw a disappointing start to the year, with the business posting a 20% year-on-year fall in net profits to 131.9m, while first-quarter revenues of 1.07bn represent a 5% decline on the corresponding period in 2011.