Entain chair steps down while CEO search continues

Entain, the sports betting and gambling group currently without a permanent chief executive, has announced that chair Barry Gibson will also step down later this year following a four-year tenure.

Gibson, who joined the board in November 2019 and became chair in February 2020, has given notice to retire some time before the end of September, depending on when Entain can find a replacement to former CEO Jette Nygaard-Anderson.

Stella David, the non-executive director who stepped in as interim CEO, has been named as Gibson's successor.

The Ladbrokes, Sportingbet and Foxy Bingo owner has been without a CEO since December when Nygaard-Anderson resigned in the wake of an HMRC probe into historic activities of its Turkish business, which resulted in a £585m settlement.

Entain said that its search for a permanent CEO was "ongoing and progressing well", while David said she was "entirely focused on my role as interim CEO as we work to accelerate our operational strategy, and look forward to taking over the baton from Barry in due course".

David added: "Barry has been a wonderful mentor and source of wise counsel to so many people during his time as Chair of Entain, and I would like to personally thank him for his unwavering support. The fact that we now have a solid platform and a clear plan for future growth is due in no small part to his efforts."

Gibson is said to have played an "integral role" in the transformation of the company from GVC Holdings into Entain, a rebranding which took place in December 2020, "which has included a significant improvement in the quality of the Group's operations, revenues, governance processes, and procedures", the company said.