Significant changes have been implemented to the senior team at Tabcorp as Gillon McLachlan begins his tenure as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the operator.
McLachlan takes the role after Adam Rytenskild resigned in March last year following inappropriate comments made about a female executive at Tabcorp.
He looks to steady operations after a challenging period, which saw the group report a statutory net loss of AU$1.4bn (€850 million).
These numbers saw Tabcorp take action as they moved to terminate its TAB25 strategy and recovery targets, seeking to reclaim 30% of Australia’s online gambling market share with a projected 10% return on investment.
The appointment of McLachlan was signed off by newly-appointed Chairman Brett Chenoweth, who succeeded Bruce Akhurst in September.
The company stated: “Bruce Akhurst will retire from the Tabcorp Board and cease as Executive Director, effective today. This announcement was authorised for release by the Tabcorp Chairman, Brett Chenoweth.”
McLachlan brings strong credentials from Australian sport after his role at the AFL saw him grow the league significantly.Notably, McLachlan oversaw the expansion of the AFL competition to 18 teams and the launch of the AFLW competition.
Furthermore, in a bid to accelerate the turnaround of the company’s fortunes, Tabcorp also recently landed the appointment of Michael Fitzsimons as Chief Wagering Officer.
This was an appointment that was specifically singled for praise by McLachlan, who revealed it is a key part of the ‘evolving development’ of a new Executive Leadership Team.
McLachlan said: “Michael Fitzsimons is one of the world’s most sought-after wagering executives and brings extensive global sports betting experience to Tabcorp. He has a deep knowledge of international sports betting, trading, and tote.
“Michael is a rare find—he knows both digital and retail wagering and is one of the few people in the world who can connect both to grow a wagering product.
“The creation of a Chief Wagering Officer is a significant enhancement of our wagering capability within the executive team. This simplified vertical structure aligns all levers for growing wagering under one executive to ensure first-class execution.”
