James Henderson makes rapid William Hill exit
Hills CEO leaves four months after issuing profit warning, search for successor underway
William Hill CEO James Henderson has left the operator with immediate effect, four months after the company was forced to issue a profit warning due to the underperformance of its digital business.
Henderson had worked at Hills for more than 30 years but saw his two-year tenure as chief executive marred by a raft of senior staff departures and a struggling financial performance.
Chief financial officer (CFO), Philip Bowcock, has been appointed interim CEO until a permanent replacement has been found. The firm will announce an interim CFO in due course.
“James’s career with William Hill has spanned over 30 years covering the Retail, Online and international businesses,” William Hill chairman, Gareth Davis, said.
“We would like to thank him for his significant contribution and we wish him all the best for the future.
“Philip has a clear set of priorities as interim CEO, principally the continued turnaround of the Online business. We will confirm a successor in the coming months,” he added.
William Hill this morning said trading remained in line with the previous guidance of ?260-280m operating profit in 2016.
Henderson originally began his career as a trainee in a west London betting shop, before working his way through the ranks to become group operations director and later a replacement for former William Hill CEO Ralph Topping in July 2014.
Speculation over Henderson’s future at the operator had been rife in recent months after the operator consistently reported disappointing financial results and saw its share price plummet, particularly since February.
According to its most recent results, online revenues dropped 11% year-on-year in Q1, with sportsbook revenues down 17% and gaming down 4%.
In March the firm warned the City profits from its digital arm could fall by as much as ?25m in 2016 due to regulatory factors, including time-outs and automatic self-exclusions, and significantly lower gross win margins.
Henderson recently named Crispin Nieboer as manging director of William Hill Online, who has since restructured the firm’s senior team and set out a new strategy to help boost performance from its digital business.
William Hill’s share price on the London Stock Exchange was up 2.07% to 280.80p at the time of writing.
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