Dabble names ex-Tabcorp GM as new chief strategy and commercial officer
Brenden Varcoe secures his first C-suite role, while local media reports claim Tabcorp has laid off 10% of its workforce
Dabble has snapped up former Tabcorp senior figure Brenden Varcoe as its new chief strategy and commercial officer (CSCO).
Varcoe spent nine years at Tabcorp, arriving in January 2016 as senior manager of strategic planning before shifting to head of commercial in August 2017.
He then served as general manager of strategy for four years between March 2018 and June 2022, then shifted to general manager of strategy and ventures in June 2022.
In September 2023, Varcoe was named general manager of racing industry and venues.
In his final post with the Melbourne-based company, Varcoe was responsible for spearheading Tabcorp’s retail outfits, which included around 4,000 venues in the form of pubs, clubs and sporting stadiums.
Over the course of his near-decade-long career at Tabcorp, Varcoe also helped lead on commercial deals with the NBA, MLB and the NFL.
Prior to his Tabcorp tenure, Varcoe’s first foray into the gambling sector came in April 2013 when he was named the commercial manager of Melbourne Racing Club.
He also has previous experience with accountancy giants KPMG and PwC, as well as a spell as a senior financial analyst for the Royal Bank of Scotland on his CV.
Taking to LinkedIn to confirm his new role, Varcoe wrote: “After nine years at Tabcorp working across multiple senior leadership roles, I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as chief strategy and commercial officer at Dabble.”
Varcoe’s exit from Tabcorp comes amid reports from Australian media outlets claiming the operator has made around 200 redundancies, representing around 10% of its workforce, to cut costs and simplify the business.
As per the Australian Financial Review, all Tabcorp divisions have been impacted by the cuts, bar its horseracing broadcasting channel, Sky Racing.
At the time of writing, Tabcorp’s share price sat at A$0.54.
EGR has reached out to Tabcorp for comment.
Meanwhile, October saw reports emerge detailing how Dabble is exploring an IPO in either the US or Australia, with revenue expected to reach A$500m (£394.7m) within the next three years.
Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.