Entain bolsters operational team with new C-level hires
Univision Communications chief digital officer Sameer Deen leads list of appointments as FTSE-listed operator adds media and tech know-how
Entain has appointed Sameer Deen as its new chief strategy officer and president of new ventures.
Deen most recently served as chief digital officer for US-based Hispanic media company Univision Communications having previously spent more than six years as senior VP of digital for the Miami-based firm.
He also previously held media-facing roles at Scripps Network Interactive, cloud-based subscription restaurant reservation business City Eats and The E.W Scripps company over a 12-year period.
Deen also spent five years as director of new media for US-based media network NBCUniversal. Based in the US, he will also join Entain’s executive committee.
In a post on LinkedIn confirming the appointment, Entain said: “Sameer’s knowledge and expertise is a significant asset to us as we continue to grow our business globally.”
Meanwhile, Entain has appointed Joe Simon as its new chief information officer (CIO).
A former chief technology officer (CTO) for Vice Media Group, Simon has worked in C-level technology and operations roles for Conde Nast, Univision Communications and Encompass Digital Media.
He also spent 12 years as CIO for US-based media conglomerate Viacom where he oversaw technology, production and development for MTV Networks, MTVN International, BET Networks, Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks.
In this role, Simon oversaw 58 US networks, 106 international networks, and internet and mobile applications for 418 websites.
He most recently served as a consultant to several executive teams on technology innovation, operations and organisational transformation issues.
The igaming and sports betting operator has also revealed the appointment of Kathleen Radford as its new director of innovation experience.
Radford most recently served as a global head of personalised experiences for international banking group HSBC. She has also occupied product-related roles at Amazon, Microsoft, Tesco and price comparison site Compare The Market.
In addition to confirming the new hires, Entain has promoted Patrick Di Loreto to the post of group CTO. Di Loreto, a former head of platform engineering at William Hill and CTO at Addison Global, had been performing the role on an interim basis since November.
“Patrick’s impact since his appointment in November 2020 has been astounding, managing our technology teams and optimising our platform to provide an excellent customer experience through some of our most popular events,” Entain said in a LinkedIn post revealing his promotion.