888 Holdings announces its new chief executive – former Fortuna Entertainment Group boss Per Widerström, who takes charge of the online casino operator from 16 October 2023.
Widerström has a 17-year career in the industry. As well as his 8-year stint at Fortuna, he held executive roles at bwin.party and Gala Coral Interactive, and sits on the boards of Catena and Casumo as a non-executive director.
888 has been looking for a new boss since Itai Pazner left back in January 2023. This was due to news of anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) failings in the company’s Middle East business. Following that, non-executive chairman Lord Mendelsohn took over as interim executive chair while the board looked for a permanent replacement.
“We are delighted to be able to appoint Per following what has been an extensive and comprehensive search process,” Lord Mendelsohn remarks. “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.”
888 Also Finds UK and Ireland Managing Director
The news of 888 finding its chief executive follows the appointment of Alexis Zamboglou as managing director for the UK and Ireland. He replaces Phil Walker, who got promoted to chief commercial officer after becoming managing director in January 2023.
Zamboglou previously held several high-ranking positions at William Hill, including UK marketing director, Ireland managing director, and UK strategy director. He was also a marketing director at Entain and Ladbrokes Coral, as well as senior marketing manager and social media manager at Boylesports.
The William Hill Owner Looks to the Future
888 requires new leadership, especially as it closed its £1.95 billion acquisition of William Hill’s non-US assets from US operator Caesars earlier this month.
The deal was initially set at £2.2 billion, but a “change in the macro-economic and regulatory environment” and a review of William Hill’s UK license – led to the reduction of the original asking price.
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