GVC reshuffles senior management team
GVC Holdings has announced a series of changes to its senior management team, with Tom Ritzema, Nick Batram and Paul Tymms all taking on new roles at the Ladbrokes operator.
Ritzema, who has more than 18 years of experience in bookmaking and trading, moves into the position of group trading director. He replaces Jim Humberstone, who recently opted to leave GVC.
Ritzema joined GVC, the parent company of Ladbrokes Coral Group, as head of trading in April 2013 upon its acquisition of Sportingbet. He went on to serve as Humberstone’s deputy and was most recently sports trading director.
Batram becomes group director of corporate strategy and development, where, reporting directly to CEO Kenneth Alexander, he will focus on both M&A activity and the group’s broader strategic direction.
Batram has served as director of investor relations and external communications at GVC since 2016, and boasts over 30 years of expertise working in City-related finance.
Meanwhile, Tymms takes on Batram's previous role, where he will report directly to Rob Wood, who is to become chief financial officer in March.
Tymms has been with GVC since its acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral, where he had been serving as director of investor relations. He held the same role at Coral prior to its merger with Ladbrokes in 2016.
CEO Alexander said: “Nick and Paul are both highly talented and experienced professionals who will help to guide our strategic development as we move forwards.
“In his role as Jim’s deputy, Tom has been integral to the success of the group’s trading operations, which has been a key driver of our performance.”
Alexander also paid tribute to the outgoing Humberstone, who leaves GVC after a nine-year spell with the company.
“I’d like to put on record my thanks to Jim who has been fundamental to our journey from a small AIM listed operator, to our position today, as the world’s largest online-led sports betting and gaming business,” Alexander said.
Confirmation of the new appointments comes after GVC last week revealed that it outperformed expectations in 2018. Total online net gaming revenue for the year was up 19%, or 21% on a constant currency basis.
The operator expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to come in between £750m (€849m/$964.5m) and £755m when it publishes its preliminary full-year results on March 5.