Zeal pays tribute to ‘invaluable’ departing COO

Zeal Group has today (Friday) confirmed that Susan Standiford is to step down from the role of chief operating officer.

Standiford joined the business in May 2015 and has overseen a period of great change that included a complete transformation of Zeal’s technology platforms.

During her time with the business, Standiford also took on responsibility for the human resources function and led the company’s launches into both Norway and the Netherlands.

However, Standiford will now leave the role and also step down from the board in order to devote more time to her non-executive directorship and advisory positions, as well as start-up investments.

Zeal, whose divisions include Lottovate and myLotto24, told iGamingBusiness.com that there are no plans to replace Standiford at this stage. The company will instead split her responsibilities between the existing leadership team, with Standiford to support the transition until the end of the year.

Helmut Becker, chief executive of Zeal, said: “I’d like to thank Susan for her invaluable contribution to the group over the last three years; turbo-charging our technology capability while at the same time reducing its cost, and launching our new primary lottery products into two new international markets.”

Standiford added: “It has been a tough decision to leave Zeal but the time is now right for me to focus on my other interests, including my non-executive directorship and advisory positions, start-up investments, and my work mentoring the next generation of tech superstars.

“I am incredibly proud of the great tech platform we have put in place, the innovative new lotteries we have launched, and the progress we have made in pursuing our vision to create a better world of lottery.”

Confirmation of Standiford’s exit comes on the back of a successful first half of the year for Zeal, during which revenue increased 17% year-on-year to €73m (£65.5m/$84.9m).

However, it hasn't all been good news for Zeal this year after the firm opted to withdraw from Australia after the country introduced a ban on lottery betting in June.

The move came shortly after Zeal had launched its MyLotto24 synthetic lottery product in the country.

Image: Zeal