The international sports betting and gaming operator Paddy Power Betfair officially announced that the company’s Chief Executive Officer Breon Corcoran is on his way to resign from his position. This led to negative reactions on the stock market, which resulted in a sharp stock decline, estimated to be 4%.
After 16 years of conjoint work, CEO Breon Corcoran decided to step down from his office in the company, sharing his long-term plans with the company’s board. Gary McGann, chairman of Paddy Power Betfair commented that Mr.Corcoran expressed his willingness to step down from his position some time ago. In 2011, Mr. Corcoran stepped down from his previous office in Paddy Power, as he was appointed a Chief Financial Officer of Betfair.
Following the successful merger of the two growing betting operators Paddy Power PLC and Betfair in 2016, Mr. Corcoran appeared once again as part of Paddy Power’s team, leading the company to a great success. Thus, it is not a surprise that the news about his leaving unleashed a wave of negative reactions, which reflected badly on the price of the company’s shares. It was revealed that the company’s price per share dropped to 4% on the stock market.
It is yet to become clear when exactly Mr. Corcoran will officially resign his office, but the company announced that the person to take over the position is Peter Jackson, who is the current CEO of the international payment company WorldPay since March 2017. Mr. McGann explained that Mr. Jackson has the needed leading experience to perform the heavy task and match the company’s goals.
It was explained that the company started to look for the right person, who will take over Mr. Corcoran’s position some months ago, as the board wanted to avoid any speculations regarding Mr. Corcoran’s resignation. He added that Peter Jackson was unanimously chosen by the board as the best candidate to take over Mr. Corcoran’s post in the company.
Mr. Corcoran will remain in office until his successor Mr. Jackson takes over the post. The news of Mr. Corcoran’s resignation comes only a year and a half later after he was appointed the leading post. Mr. Corcoran explained that it was a pleasure to work with such a great team. He added that the best time to announce his decision was after the merger of Paddy Power Betfair, as it was him, who was leading the deal.
The company is expected to announce the official date, which will give a start to Mr. Jackson’s new career in Paddy Power Betfair. It is yet to become clear if the company will find its feet and stabilize from the decline, or the price of its shares will continue to sink.
