LiveScore Group hires ex-Catena Media exec as head of convergence

LiveScore Group has appointed former XLMedia and Catena Media exec Thomas Rooney as the firm’s new head of convergence.

Rooney joins the LiveScore Bet parent company from XLMedia, where he served as director of European sports between February 2022 and February 2023.

Prior to joining XLMedia, Rooney spent almost five years with Catena Media across a series of positions after the affiliate acquired Caledonian Publishing in 2017.

Rooney served as head of football between July 2017 and January 2019 before becoming a senior campaign manager in January 2019.

Then, in August 2019, he was named head of sports publishing before shifting across to head of sports operations in February 2020.

Rooney’s final role with Catena Media saw him serve as head of business optimisation between April 2021 and his departure.

In his role as head of convergence, Rooney will be responsible for overseeing the execution of the group’s strategy to bring users from its sport media business to its sports betting arms.

Rooney will also act as a central point for various other divisions including product, marketing and commercial to funnel strategy towards the group’s convergence approach.

Speaking on his appointment, Rooney said: “This is a very exciting time to join LiveScore Group and I am relishing the opportunity. It is a visionary, fast growing company and one that, refreshingly, has huge growth plans in the more mature markets such as the UK.

“Everyone has been extremely friendly so far and made me feel at home. I genuinely cannot wait to continue meeting the great people across the various locations and help take the convergence area of the business to new heights,” he added.

Last month, LiveScore Group promoted four new heads of department, including naming its first-ever head of PR Alex Cottee