LeoVegas strengthens Group Management team and increases focus on LeoSafePlay and sustainability

LeoVegas Group is making several changes to its Group Management with the aim to optimise work on driving the Company’s strategic agenda for sustainability and the ongoing journey of growth, with a further intensified focus on responsible gaming and LeoSafePlay.

New COO in Malta

Richard Woodbridge has been recruited as LeoVegas’ new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and will have overarching responsibility for operations at LeoVegas’ offices in Malta. Richard will assume his new role by 7 January 2019 at the latest and will be a member of LeoVegas’ Group Management.

“LeoVegas is the leading GameTech company in the industry, and I have a passion for working with fast-growing tech companies,” says Richard Woodbridge. “I am looking forward to being part of LeoVegas’ continued journey of growth and optimising LeoVegas’ operations, with sustainability as a guiding principle.”

Richard Woodbridge joins LeoVegas from his role as COO of Ellos Group, and prior to this he held a corresponding position at the fast-growing e-commerce company Nelly.com.

Gustaf Hagman, Group CEO, comments: “Richard’s background and personality are a perfect fit for LeoVegas as we continue to focus on growth and sustainability. Overarching responsibility for operations is growing increasingly important now that we have some 750 employees, of whom 400 are based in Malta. LeoVegas is a data-driven company in which we use a number of key metrics to further improve ourselves and increase our productivity. This has become even more crucial as we have begun acquiring companies and working with multiple brands. With his experience and capacity Richard will make a major contribution to our growth going forward.”

LeoVegas’ current COO, Marcus Nylén, will continue serving in that role in Malta through autumn 2018 until Richard takes office. Due to Marcus and Louise Nyléns relationship as closely related persons, Marcus will leave the Group Management when Richard joins to focus entirely on his role as head of LeoVegas’ global expansion.

New Deputy CEO

Louise Nylén will assume the newly created role of Deputy CEO of LeoVegas Mobile Gaming Group, stationed in Stockholm. Louise was formerly Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of LeoVegas. In her role as Deputy CEO she will work side by side Group CEO Gustaf Hagman with strategic issues such as sustainability and value-creating projects, among other things. Louise will assume her new position in the Company today the 10^th of July.

“In my new role as Deputy CEO I will have a broader platform to work from, which will enable me to promote sustainability, growth and value for the Company,” comments Louise Nylén. “I am very excited to have this trust and opportunity to continue contributing to LeoVegas’ rapid development.”

“Louise has been with LeoVegas and based in Malta since 2013, holding the position as CMO since 2015,” continues Gustaf Hagman, Group CEO of LeoVegas Mobile Gaming Group. “In that role she has built up a data-driven and effective market team that is responsible for LeoVegas’ customer acquisition and global brand-building. Much of the approach in this work can be used across a broader front in the Company. Louise has also played a key role in building our company culture and driving sustainability, and I look forward to work with Louise and all other employees to achieve our financial targets for 2020 of at least EUR 600m in revenue and at least EUR 100m in EBITDA. 

Louise’s former role as CMO will be broken up into several roles in Malta and will thereby be phased out.

LeoSafePlay – new business unit for next generation responsible gaming system

Rikard Ljungman is leaving his position as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) as well as LeoVegas’ Group Management to focus entirely on responsible gaming and LeoSafePlay. LeoSafePlay will be run as a separate business unit in order to create the best conditions for the next generation responsible gaming system based on machine learning.  Richard Woodbridge will take over Rikard Ljungman’s CCO-related duties in Malta.

“Rikard was one of the initiative-takers behind LeoSafePlay, and with his strong product background, including as CPO for the software company Episerver, he has the exact right expertise to take the next step to make LeoVegas the leader in responsible gaming technology and strengthen our position as a GameTech company,” comments Gustaf Hagman, Group CEO.