Evoke chief strategy officer to depart in the summer
Vaughan Lewis calls time on his four-year stint with 888 and William Hill parent to pursue new challenges as operator returned to growth in full-year 2024
Evoke chief strategy officer Vaughan Lewis is set to depart the London-listed company this summer after deciding to move on for new challenges.
EGR understands there have been no disagreements which have led to Lewis’ departure, with the exec having helped play a key role in returning the business to growth in 2024.
Lewis will remain in his post at the William Hill and 888 parent company until the summer to support with the handover of his responsibilities.
His exit was announced on evoke’s analyst call following the release of its full-year 2024 earnings report, in which it stated revenue was up 3% to £1.8bn.
Lewis joined the operator in early 2021, with a key focus on building a company strategy and M&A plan to scale up what was then 888.
He moved to the firm after serving as The Stars Group senior vice-president of communications.
888 then bought William Hill’s non-US assets from Caesars Entertainment for £2.2bn, with the deal announced in September 2021 and concluded in July 2022.
Lewis also played a key role in the development of 888AFRICA, the JV the parent company has the option to take eventual full ownership of.
Last August, evoke, which 888 rebranded to under the stewardship of CEO Per Widerström, snapped up 51% of Romanian operator Winner.ro in a €10m deal.
The former Sky Betting and Gaming head also helped oversee the exit from markets such as Latvia and the US B2C.
During his time with the company, Lewis also served as interim CFO for a brief period following the departure of Yariv Dafna in October 2023.
He held onto the post, as well as his chief strategy officer role, until February 2024 when former Superbet head Sean Wilkins arrived as finance chief.
Announcing the news on the evoke analyst call, Widerström said: “On behalf of the board and the whole team at evoke, I would like to thank Vaughan Lewis who will leave the business in summer 2025 following a smooth transition of responsibilities.
“Vaughan has played a very important role in many aspects of the business over the past four years, including helping to deliver the transformational acquisition of William Hill, assuming the role of interim CFO prior to Sean’s arrival, playing a critical role in developing our strategy for success, and delivered value-added M&A such as the acquisition of Winner.ro and the creation and development of the group’s 888AFRICA joint venture.
“With the business returned to growth and the group’s clear strategy in place, Vaughan has decided the time is right to seek new opportunities, and we wish him every success in the future.”
Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.