VICE MEDIA CEO & US FINANCING EXPERT TO JOIN FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT BOARD

London-listed gambling giant Flutter Entertainment has further signalled its move towards the US and wider digital entertainment space, with its latest board appointments.

Well-known US media and marketing executive, Nancy Dubuc, current CEO of edgy global entertainment and news publisher Vice Media, will be joining Flutter as an independent non-executive director in April.  

Corporate financing expert Holly Koeppel will also be joining the board as a non-executive director and strategic advisor. She is currently an advisor to US-based blue chip firms British American Tobacco, Arch Resources, and AES Corporation. 

The changes are in response to the impending retirement of Flutter’s current Deputy-Chairman Divyesh Gadhia, and Non-Executive Director Peter Rigby, who will be stepping down after the next annual general meeting, scheduled for 29 April 2021. 

Regarding the changes Flutter Entertainment chairman, Gary McGann, said: “Following an international search as part of our on-going Board renewal process, I am delighted to welcome Nancy and Holly to the Board. Nancy brings a wealth of experience in the media and entertainment sectors to Flutter.

“Holly has extensive experience of regulated consumer-facing businesses in the US and international markets. We look forward to Nancy’s and Holly’s involvement which will add enormously to the diversity of thought and perspective on the Flutter Board.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Like several other major gambling firms, Flutter seems to be going through something of a metamorphosis. In addition to is major rebranding from Paddy Power Betfair to Flutter Entertainment, which has given it a much wider digital entertainment identity and subtly distanced itself from pure gambling, the company has also been focusing on equality, diversity and social responsibility – prerequisites for an expansion into the wider entertainment space. 

The fact that the CEO of Vice Media, a publisher primarily aimed at the youth and young adult market – a space that is a definite ‘no-go’ zone for gambling operators – further reinforces the feeling of a possible major strategic diversification. Koeppel joining the board is also a clear indication of Flutter’s trans-Atlantic future.