SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The governance of FTSE 250 gambling firm Rank Group Plc has this morning confirmed the appointment of John O’Reilly as Chief Executive Officer, replacing outbound Henry Birch as its corporate leader.
A 25-year industry leadership veteran, John O’Reilly joins Rank from William Hill Plc, where he served as Non-Executive Director (2017-2018).
Furthermore, O’Reilly previously led and grew Ladbrokes’ digital operations and was an executive director on the Ladbrokes plc board until August 2010.
In August 2011 he joined the Gala Coral Group to relaunch the Coral brand online as Managing Director of Coral Interactive.
Ian Burke Chairman of Rank Plc commented on the appointment “John brings a wealth of gambling industry experience, particularly in digital, and I am delighted that he is joining the board of Rank as its Chief Executive. His impressive reputation and track record of delivering growth means he is well-equipped to drive our performance going forward.
“I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our thanks to Henry Birch for his significant contribution over the last four years and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
The FTSE gambling group further confirmed the appointment of Alan Morgan, current Rank Retail Managing Director, to the board as executive director with effect from 7 May 2018
John O’Reilly, incoming Chief Executive Officer commented: “I am excited to be joining Rank, a company synonymous with the UK gaming industry. Rank has very strong brands which resonate with customers and a growing digital offering and I look forward to building on this strong platform and taking Rank onto its next stage of development.”
