The Stars Group appoints Christopher Coyne as chief customer officer
Former Crown and Paddy Power executive took up newly-created role in August
The Stars Group has appointed former Crown CMO Christopher Coyne to the newly-created role of chief customer officer of its gaming division Stars Interactive.
In his new role, Coyne will be tasked with “representing the customer across the business to help deliver the best experience possible.”
Coyne, who was also head of egaming at Paddy Power from 2011 to 2014, told EGR he would be using the data collected by the operator and insights from the research team to help improve the customer experience.
“My job is to add the extra 5% to the customer experience,” Coyne said. “This was already a great business before I joined so it’s about building on that.”
Coyne, who joined the operator last month, said an early focus had been on the mobile apps, while he would also be working on the recently launched Stars Rewards loyalty programme.
“I was involved with loyalty programmes at Crown and CrownBet and before that at BT and John Lewis, so I have a deep loyalty background to add to the loyalty programme here,” he said.
“I would hope in the next month, I’ll be understanding the early work of the loyalty programme, which has been a success, and helping to build that out for the future,” Coyne added.
He also said he would bring some learnings from Crown’s VIP business to Stars brands as a distinct VIP programme is rolled out to support the wider cross vertical gaming brands. Coyne, who will be reporting directly to group CEO Rafi Ashkasnzi, added: “Rafi wants me to be involved in the business as much as makes sense. It’s something of a fluid role, but it’s always with a focus on the customer and using the intelligence we have to deliver something powerful and actionable for customers.”
Ashkenazi added: “Christopher’s wealth of experience brings a level of senior experience across a range of gaming, entertainment, and consumer brands that will be a huge asset to us. I look forward to working closely with him to ensure the customer remains at the heart of what we do and to capitalize on our competitive advantages.”