Degree 53 hires former William Hill Head of Technology Andy Furnival as Technical Director

Degree 53, specialists in UX, design and software development, have confirmed the appointment of Andy Furnival as Technical Director who will be responsible for the technology strategy of the business and oversight of all of the technical teams, as well as providing support to the leadership team.

Furnival joins Degree 53 from the UK sports betting operator William Hill where he was Head of Technology. Over the last seven years, Andy has led strategic projects, such as maintaining compliance and regulatory standards, as well as streamlining sportsbook platforms. He oversaw three business divisions with over 130 employees spread across Europe. His role was to implement technical strategy and establish an efficient operating model with good working practices to be able to scale it in response to business demands.

As Technical Director, Andy will lead the technology and development strategy, working with Development, Infrastructure, Architecture, DevOps and DBA teams. He will work with them to ensure a clear and achievable strategy to drive operational excellence at Degree 53 in order to provide the best products and functionalities to their clients.

Andy Furnival, Technical Director at Degree 53, comments: “I am extremely happy to be joining such a modern company that places technical expertise and innovation at its core. I’m a firm believer in a learning culture and striving for continuous improvements, and that strategic goals must be balanced with pragmatism but always with a clear purpose of delivering value.”

“My approach is to establish a working environment that allows teams to make efficient and effective decisions through a culture of trust, learning and safety. I believe that with my background in product development and strategy at the operator side, I will lead our teams to deliver even more robust and scalable products for our clients.”

Andrew Daniels, Managing Director at Degree 53, says: “I’m very pleased that Andy has joined Degree 53 and he will be a brilliant asset in leading our technical development. Since establishing a gaming division two years ago, we’ve been heavily investing in technical talent to build high-end products for the online gambling industry. Over this period, we’ve recruited solution architects, database administrators, automation testers and infrastructure engineers. All of this is part of our drive to create state-of-the-art technology for operators to improve their services and bring innovation to the industry. I’m very proud of what we’ve already achieved and how many skilled individuals Degree 53 has hired over this time. Andy brings unrivalled expertise and leadership capabilities that will drive our development. I welcome Andy to the team and am confident he will transform our technical capabilities.”