Betfair Promotes Shane O’Driscoll to Marketing Director

Gambling operator Betfair added to its senior management team, appointing Shane O’Driscoll as its new marketing director. Betfair is owned by Irish bookmaking holding company Flutter Entertainment, which recently made sweeping changes to its management team.

The New Marketing Director Rose from the Ground Up

O’Driscoll’s career is a fine example of professional growth. He was very active during his student years with several sales-related positions and a one-year internship as a marketing intern for Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company Ericsson. 

His big break came right after graduating from Dublin City University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. He received the position of Online Marketing Manager for the election campaign of Seán Gallagher, who ran for the 2011 Irish presidential elections. Gallagher did not win the presidency, but O’Driscoll’s expertise allowed him to find work in the gambling industry, where he would spend most of his career.

O’Driscoll Spent Most of His Career with Flutter

In November 2011, Shane O’Driscoll started work for gambling operator PaddyPower as sportsbook affiliate managing executive. Over almost three years, he rose to ad operations & RTB manager and worked on developing the company’s trading deck and growing programmatic channel revenue.

After a year-long break working for Chicago-based global e-commerce marketplace Groupon, O’Driscoll got employed by Betfair as head of display, ad operations, marketing tech & SEO. He continued working for Flutter Entertainment and its subsidiaries until the recent day. After eight months at Betfair, O’Driscoll returned to PaddyPower. From 2016 to 2020, he moved from head of display to head of search and head of growth. O’Driscoll then worked directly for Flutter as digital director for Betfair International until his most recent promotion.

Flutter Continues Restructuring Its UK and Ireland Branch

As Betfair’s marketing director, O’Driscoll will employ his substantial industry experience and marketing abilities. His familiarity with Flutter Entertainment and its daughter companies undoubtedly played a role in his promotion.

Flutter is currently undergoing some substantial upper management shifts. A few days ago, the company appointed industry veteran Steve Hawkes as director of reputational/public affairs in the UK and Ireland. Hawkes will head external communications for the company.

Flutter has recently started a substantial reshuffle of its upper management team, especially for its UK and Ireland branch. The operator recently appointed a new Head of Procurement Services and Chief People and Operations Officer for the region. Flutter UK and Ireland CEO Conor Grant recently announced that he would leave the company by 2022 after more than 20 years in the online gambling sector. He will be replaced in September by Ian Brown, the former CEO of the Trips division of Booking.com.