PENN Entertainment has announced an organisational restructure, prioritising theScore Bet in Canada and Hollywood Casino in the US, as well as its overarching omnichannel approach.
As part of the restructure, executive vice-president of operations Todd George and chief information officer (CIO) and senior vice-president Rich Primus have stepped down from their roles, effective immediately.
The overhaul will also see the appointment of a new digital COO.
George spent 13 years with the operator in several roles having joined in October 2012, including general manager of several Hollywood Casino retail properties.
He oversaw the opening of the Hollywood Casino Joliet in Illinois last August, as well as December’s opening of PENN’s second hotel tower at M Resort in Las Vegas.
Prior experience included four years with Pinnacle Entertainment as senior vice-president and general manager.
Primus served as PENN’s CIO for over a decade and played a role in its strategic technology plan and cyber security framework.
Before joining PENN in June 2015, Primus spent 10 years with the Hershey Company in various roles including its senior director of global commercial, financial planning and analysis and business intelligence systems.
Thanking them for their service, PENN CEO and president Jay Snowden commented: “Both Todd and Rich have made significant contributions to PENN’s evolution over the past decade and helped build the strong foundation we have in place today.
“On behalf of the company’s board of directors, I want to express my appreciation for their dedication and efforts to PENN over the years and wish them well in their future endeavours.”
As part of the restructure, senior vice-presidents of regional operations Rafael Verde and Aaron Rosenthal will continue to oversee the retail operations and will report to Snowden.
Meanwhile, fellow senior-vice president of regional operations, Justin Carter, will now report to Verde.
Chief marketing officer Jennifer Weissman will also report to Snowden, while working closer with chief technology officer and head of interactive, Aaron LaBerge, to enhance the operator’s loyalty programme PENN Play and improve cross-sell execution.
LaBerge will also take charge of the firm’s IT functions and report to Snowden.
A COO will be hired to oversee day-to-day operations of the digital division and allow LaBerge to focus on the “combined technology teams”. The new COO will report to LaBerge
On the new direction, Snowden added: “As we turn the calendar to 2026, we are restructuring our corporate organisation in order to achieve greater operational efficiencies, deepen customer engagement across channels, maximise free cash flow and drive shareholder value.”
PENN’s shift comes months after it announced it was terminating early its $150m-a-year online sports betting partnership with ESPN.
In the process, PENN shifted its US sports betting brand to theScore Bet, which it had previously been running in Canada.
TheScore Bet launched in 21 US states on 2 December.
A week later, Nate Ravitz was named the head of theScore brand.
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The post PENN on the hunt for digital COO following management restructuring first appeared on EGR Intel.
Operator says new strategic priority focuses on Hollywood Casino in the US and “omnichannel business model”, as two senior execs depart
The post PENN on the hunt for digital COO following management restructuring first appeared on EGR Intel.