888 Changes Team Following William Hill Acquisition

888 Holdings, a company operating several gambling brands, has successfully completed the acquisition of William Hill, a British gambling company. 888 decided to introduce some changes to its leadership team right away.

William Hill’s CEO and CFO to Leave

Several William Hill executives will be leaving the team as a part of 888’s organizational changes. This includes Ulrik Bengtsson, William Hill’s chief executive officer, as well as Eric Hageman, the company’s chief financial officer.

The aforementioned changes come as a result of the merger deal. From now on Itai Pazner, 888’s chief executive officer, will serve as CEO of the expanded company. Meanwhile, Yariv Dafna will assume the responsibilities of a chief financial officer for the entire firm. Lastly, Guy Cohen will guide 888’s business as chief operating officer.

Pazner spoke about the changes. He praised the completed acquisition of William Hill and said that he wants to build a team that combines both companies’ strengths.

We have built an outstanding leadership team, combining strengths from across both businesses, and as I look at the future, the combination of our product and content leadership, powered by our proprietary technology and our world-class brands, gives us a powerful platform for growth.

Itai Pazner, CEO, 888 Holdings

Pazner thanked Bengtsson and Hageman for their service and the great job they have done as parts of William Hill. The CEO wished both of them all the best in the future.

Some Executives Will Remain in the Company

While 888 will mostly rely on its own leadership team, it has opted to keep some executives from William Hill as well. For example, Mark Skinner will retain his position. Skinner began William Hill’s chief people officer in 2021 and will retain this position in the expanded company.

Another employee who will remain on 888’s leadership team is Satty Bhens. Bhens has been William Hill’s chief product and technology officer since 2019 and will carry on with his duties as a part of 888.

888 first announced its plans to acquire William Hill from Caesars in 2021. There were some challenges along the way as William Hill’s business failed to comply with some of the UKGC’s regulations and risked losing its license. Because of that, Caesars and 888 had to amend their existing deal.

A week ago, 888 published its results for the twelve months ending on February 28, 2022. The company also added that it plans to publish its interim results in August.