DraftKings hires new sportsbook chiefs
Incumbent Sean Hurley moves to a commercial role as operator opens two West Coast offices
DraftKing has hired two new sportsbook chiefs with incumbent Sean Hurley moving to a more commercial role with the business, the operator announced today.
Hurley is now head of commercial growth for DraftKings, working with the company’s business development team based in New York City.
According to a company statement: “Sean brings a wealth of experience in this critical area, most recently as the head of commercial for Amelco, and was instrumental in forging deals that enabled the first-to-market DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey”.
His duties will be spit between two new hires, with Jamie Shea joining as head of digital sportsbook operations and Frank Kunovic joining as director of retail sportsbook operations.
Shea has more than ten years’ experience as a sportsbook and racebook director in Las Vegas, and most recently lead North American growth opportunities for International Game Technology.
Kunovic joins from Caesars, where he most recently oversaw over 20 sportsbooks and racebooks.
Along with the hires, DraftKings also announced it had recently opened an office in San Francisco, focused on marketing, and was planning to open an office in Las Vegas.
“The bar for hiring talent at DraftKings is set extremely high, and our success in being first to market in New Jersey with mobile sports betting is the direct result of our skilled team,” said DraftKings’ co-founder and CRO Matt Kalish.
“I am excited to welcome this new group of executives, while expanding the company to San Francisco and Las Vegas. Presence in these international hubs of technology and gaming, respectively, allows us access to a tremendous talent pool and strengthens our position as leaders in this dynamic industry.”
The company had not yet responded to an EGR question on what operations would be carried out in the Vegas office.
DraftKings is also in the process of creating a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Boston slated to open in early 2019.
The 105,000 square foot space, which was the largest single-floor space available in Boston, is more than double the size of DraftKings’ current office and will be custom designed to accommodate the company’s burgeoning gaming and media divisions.
The firm is raising $200m to fund its massive betting-related expansion.