Former Entain exec Grainne Hurst officially starts as BGC CEO
Hurst’s tenure begins after she was named Michael Dugher’s replacement in April, as she lays out her key aims including delivering on white paper changes and driving growth
Grainne Hurst has officially joined the Betting and Gaming Council as CEO after her appointment was confirmed back in April.
Hurst joins the trade body following almost 10 years with Entain, most recently as the group’s director of corporate affairs.
She stepped into that role in March 2018 having previously served as Ladbrokes Coral’s head of public affairs from July 2015.
Hurst also acted as a board member of the Entain Foundation and played a key role in the development of the operator’s Changing for the Bettor safer gambling campaign.
She also serves as the co-chair for the Global Gaming Women’s International Committee.
Hurst’s appointment was confirmed in April, having been selected to replace outgoing CEO Michael Dugher in what he described as a “very tough, external recruitment process”.
Dugher, meanwhile, stepped up to become BGC chair in April, replacing Brigid Simmonds. Simmonds had served as chair of the body since its establishment in 2019.
Hurst said she was “delighted to get started” as she thanked Dugher for his support.
The new CEO continued: “There is a huge amount of work ahead of us, not least delivering and implementing the outstanding proposals outlined in last year’s white paper, many of which our members called for.
“While achieving regulatory certainty after a period of so much change is top of my priority list, it is important for our industry to focus on stability, growth and diversity across the sector.
“That work must be underpinned by strong data and guided throughout by the voice of the everyday consumer.
“My huge thanks go to Michael Dugher for his amazing work so far getting the BGC to where it is today, I’m really looking forward to working alongside Michael in his new role as BGC chair.”
Dugher added: “I look forward to working with Grainne in my new role as chair, and the rest of the outstanding BGC team, as we continue to represent thousands of workers and millions of customers, as well as delivering on our mission to raise standards in safer gambling.”
Last month, Hurst hit back at an opinion piece published in The Times, arguing the newspaper’s editorial team had “conflated” addiction and problem gambling.
Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.