888 appoints Per Widerström as CEO

William Hill and Mr Green owner 888 said on Tuesday that it has appointed Per Widerström as chief executive officer with effect from 16 October.

Widerström has more than 17 years of experience in the online gaming industry, having most recently held the position of CEO at Fortuna Entertainment Group, a market leading omni-channel betting and gaming business across Central and Eastern Europe, from 2014 to 2022. Prior to that, he held a succession of senior roles across leading online gaming businesses from 2006 onwards.

888 said that once Widerström joins the group, Lord Mendelsohn will return to the role of non-executive chair, while ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities.

Mendelsohn said: "We are delighted to be able to appoint Per following what has been an extensive and comprehensive search process. The board unanimously agreed that Per was the clear standout candidate to lead the group to build on the strong platform for growth and value creation that has been established.

"Per has extensive experience in both public and private companies, and a long track record with a proven ability to execute value creation plans. As well as being an energetic and inspiring leader, Per brings nearly two decades of highly relevant industry expertise into the role.

"He has a strong and proven track record of driving growth and delivering transformation programmes at multiple leading online gaming businesses, and the board is very pleased to appoint someone with the skillset to deliver our objective to become a much stronger international multi-brand operator, leveraging our technology and data capabilities to drive an acceleration in growth."