Better Collective names new US chief commercial officer
Former bet365 affiliate manager and Better Collective veteran Karl Pugh promoted to C-level role
Better Collective has appointed Karl Pugh as its new US chief commercial officer (CCO).
A veteran of the business development side of gambling, the promotion marks Pugh’s sixth role in just over three years at the Copenhagen-based affiliate.
He originally joined the company in March 2019 as head of business development before transitioning to the role of director of business development in October 2019. In July of 2020, Pugh’s remit as business development lead was expanded to include M&A facing activities. He would later advance to become first a senior director of business development and M&A before becoming VP of business development and M&A in January 2022.
Prior to joining Better Collective, Pugh spent over three years as a director at affiliate trade body and self-regulation entity, Responsible Affiliates in Gambling (RAIG). Pugh also spent over seven years at Stoke-on-Trent headquartered operator bet365 in various affiliate management based roles.
In his new role, Pugh will be responsible for commercial related activities concerning Better Collective’s US-facing operation and its subsidiaries, including Action Network, RotoGrinders, VegasInsider, SportsHandle and ScoresAndOdds. He will report to Better Collective US CEO Marc Frank Pedersen.
This includes signing commercial deals with US operators, media entities and overseeing the expansion of the affiliates US business into new states as sports betting spreads.
Pugh’s appointment marks the second major hire in the space of a month, with the affiliate promoting Action Network VP of marketing Sean Valukis to be its US SVP of marketing at the end of July.
Better Collective’s US division has been the source of significant growth for the affiliate over the last two years, with the US delivering revenue growth of 435% during the first quarter of 2022.
The affiliate recently inked a commercial partnership with the Illinois-based newspaper The Chicago Tribune having previously signed deals with The Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Post.