Exclusive: Rank Group’s digital director Colin Cole-Johnson departs
Operator's director of digital and cross-channel services left on Friday after nearly five years with the business
Rank Group’s director of digital and cross-channel services, Colin Cole-Johnson, has left the Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo owner as the operator looks to deliver on its transformation programme, EGR Intel can reveal.
Cole-Johnson officially left the London-listed company on Friday after nearly five years with the business, which recently announced plans to acquire online bingo operator Stride Gaming for £115m.
His departure comes amid a reorganisation at Rank Group, underpinned by building a stronger digital leadership team in Gibraltar where the majority of Cole-Johnson’s responsibilities will now be based.
Cole-Johnson told EGR he was reluctant to relocate to the Rock having left in 2014 to join Rank, and said he planned to take time off over the summer with his family before searching for new roles.
“Colin has been instrumental in growing our Digital business and developing our teams in Gibraltar and Sheffield, ensuring that Digital has become an area of growth for us now and in the future,” Rank CEO John O’Reilly wrote in a recent email to staff.
“I would like to thank Colin for all his hard work and tenacity and wish him well for the future.”
Prior to joining Rank Group, Cole-Johnson worked for nearly six years at William Hill where he served as egaming director and later director of customer intelligence. He also previously worked as director of gaming at Ladbrokes.
Last year, Rank announced it had launched a three-year transformation programme comprising of 300 separate initiatives centred around revenue growth and the reduction of costs.
The company last year also added new personnel to its executive team, including a new chief information officer and chief transformation officer.
It is due to announce its preliminary financial results on 22 August.