People news 17/01/13
The latest people moves from the egaming industry in the last 7 days (11 January to 17 January 2013).
Baca resigns from bwin.party board as Ryan retires
COO steps down from board to ensure company complies with recommended balance of independent and non-independent directors.
Bwin.party has announced that COO Joachim Baca has stepped down from the operator’s board of directors following the retirement of Jim Ryan from the business.
Baca, who will continue in his role as chief operating officer, has left the board in order to comply with the UK Corporate Governance Code’s recommended balance of independent and non-independent directors, which had been offset by Ryan’s departure, first announced in December last year. He was first awarded the directorship when the companies merged in March 2011, having become COO of bwin in January 2004.
Despite stepping down Baca “remains a core member of [bwin.party’s] senior management team” and will continue to report directly to Norbert Teufelberger, the company said in a statement this morning.
Meanwhile Jim Ryan has now officially left his role as co-CEO of bwin.party, with Teufelberger taking over as sole chief executive, bringing to an end his 11-year career in the industry. He joined PartyGaming in June 2008 and prior to the merger with bwin oversaw the group’s expansion into regulated European markets, signing B2B deals with former monopoly operators Danske Spil in January 2010, and with Pari-Mutuel Urbain in March of the same year.
Witten leaves Lads for Tipp24
Ladbrokes’ former director of ecommerce and mobile Paul Witten has joined Tipp24 as managing director and head of business development for the operator’s UK subsidiary.
Witten joined Ladbrokes in February 2009 to take charge of the operator’s online sportsbook, before being handed responsibility for customer development in a reshuffle of Lads’ egaming division in November 2010, spending a year in the role, before being moved to head up ecommerce and mobile. In his newly-created role, he will be responsible for the global expansion of the Tipp24 brand.
Swedish regulator appoints former Lads PR manager
The Swedish Gaming Board (Lotteriinspektionen) has appointed former Ladbrokes PR manager Joakim Rönngren as its communications director, the authority has announced.
Rönngren joins the Lotteriinspektionen just a year after serving as a senior advisor for the consultancy ODIAV Perception, having previously spent eight years as Ladbrokes’ manager for PR and public affairs for the Nordic region. He has been appointed ahead of what the regulator describes as a series of “radical changes” to Sweden’s gambling laws, with his industry experience described as crucial in communicating the body’s new policies and legislation to the public and the wider online gambling industry.
Lotteriinspektionen general director Hakan Hallstedt spoke of his delight at having appointed Rönngren, explaining that he felt the regulator had hired too few employees hired from within the online gambling industry in the past.
Seven days in people news:
Harry Reid denies Johnson bribe allegations
US Senator Harry Reid has denied accusations that he was involved in an alleged attempt organised by Utah attorney general John Swallow to end an investigation into the iWorks business run by Jeremy Johnson, who was reportedly involved in Black Friday payment processing.
Swallow, who was sworn into office last week, has also denied the allegations that he helped set up a US$600,000 payment to Reid in 2010 and has asked US Attorney for Utah David Barlow to investigate Johnson’s claims. He has argued that his only involvement was to connect Johnson with the late Richard Rawle, who owned loans company Check City, in order to hire lobbyists to work on the Federal Trade Commission case.
Once the lawsuit was filed against iWorks, Johnson demanded that Swallow return some of his alleged $250,000 initial payment.
Jason Ader withdraws IGT board bid
IGT has confirmed that Jason Ader has withdrawn his intent to nominate himself as a director candidate at the company’s upcoming annual shareholder meeting following the supplier’s claims that his intentions were motivated by ex-CEO Charles Mathewson’s dispute with his former employer.
Ader, along with Mathewson and two others linked to New York-based investment firm Ader Management group, had put himself forward to join IGT’s board of directors.
Pegler joins Williams Interactive
Chartwell and Mfuse veteran Andrew Pegler has moved to Williams Interactive, the online arm of US gaming business WMS as director of key accounts.
Pegler had served as sales director with Chartwell before it was acquired by Amaya Gaming in 2011, joining Mfuse in April that year but leaving his post after eight months.
Williams Interactive was set up last July to focus on online, social, casual and mobile gaming and “Capitalise on the emerging industry’s significant potential growth opportunities by supporting casinos’ participation in these new distribution channels.”
Pegler told eGaming Review: “WMS is a gaming industry leader well respected for high quality content and service. Williams Interactive benefits hugely from that heritage and will change the eGaming landscape. It’s really exciting here.”