Tabcorp revamps executive team with several appointments
Australian operator hires chief legal officer alongside creation of two new roles including chief commercial and media officer
Tabcorp has made several additions to its leadership team, including the appointment of a chief legal officer and the newly created role of chief commercial and media officer.
Narelle McKenzie has been named chief legal officer after 20 years with Telstra in several legal roles, including as regulatory legal practice lead and most recently as sustainability, external affairs and legal executive.
Meanwhile, Jarrod Villani has been appointed chief commercial and media officer, a newly created role for the operator.
Villani will be responsible for “stronger commercial outcomes” and will oversee the maximisation of the “value of [Tabcorp] assets across domestic and international media (Sky Racing) and retail”.
Villani arrives from Paramount Australia and New Zealand, where he spent just under three years as executive vice-president and chief operating and commercial operator.
Current chief transformation officer Robert Fraser has been promoted to chief technology and transformation officer.
Fraser first joined the firm in April 2022 as general manager of transformation and separation. In his time at Tabcorp, he led the design and execution of the operator’s cost-cutting Genesis Programme earlier this year.
In the raft of leadership changes, Tabcorp also created the chief wagering officer position with an appointment expected to be announced in 2025.
The chief wagering officer will bring together core functions of “digital, retail, trading, marketing and product”. The ASX-listed business said the recruitment process was “well advanced”.
It was also announced that chief customer officer Jenni Barnett and chief information officer Alan Sharvin will be leaving the business.
Barnett had held the role since May 2022 while Sharvin joined Tabcorp in April 2022. The operator did not reveal when the pair would officially depart.
Gillon McLachlan, Tabcorp managing director and CEO elect, said: “The changes to our structure will increase our wagering capability and drive growth across both wagering and media.
“It allows one executive to control the key wagering assets within our ecosystem. It’s a simpler model that brings our wagering team together to drive first class execution.
“You’re seeing continued change. We will have an executive team with market leading experience in wagering and media.
“They will be responsible for driving our revenue and will have control of the assets that only Tabcorp has at its disposal in the Australian wagering market.”
On the departures, McLachlan added: “I wish to thank Alan Sharvin and Jenni Barnett for their significant contribution to the business since the demerger in 2022.
“They’ve played a pivotal role in improving the competitiveness of Tabcorp. We are moving quickly to execute on the exciting opportunities that lie within our unique asset base and today’s exchanges are an example of that.
“I look forward to updating shareholders on our progress and our evolved strategy as part of our half year results in February.”
Alongside the changes, Tabcorp also announced non-executive director Justin Milne had retired from the board after having served on it from 2011.
He was most recently the chairman of the technology committee.
Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.