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The former boss of the Australian Football League, Gillon McLachlan, has been appointed chief executive of ASX-listed wagering business Tabcorp. Link https://www.theage.com.au/business/c...17-p5jma0.html
McLachlan will join the business in August and assume the role of managing director and chief executive upon all necessary approvals. He will act as an observer under executive chair Bruce Akhurst until then.
?From the outside it looks like a complex leadership challenge? McLachlan told this masthead on Monday morning.
?For me that is quite compelling. I?m attracted to the challenge. To state the obvious, I?ve not led an ASX-listed company before, but in the end I think the principles of leading the AFL apply; direct communication, transparency and hopefully getting the job done,? he said.
McLachlan left the AFL last year after almost a decade in the code?s top job and recently signed as a senior adviser for Blackstone, the US private equity owner of Crown Resorts. McLachlan?s Blackstone role is not full-time. Tabcorp will pay him $1.5 million in addition to bonuses.
McLachlan said there needed to be balance in the intersection between gambling, sport and broadcasting industries.
?There is different views on what balance looks like. You?ve got [the government] weighing up their decisions and then there?s the companies themselves with their own views,? he said.
The federal government is deciding whether to implement a total ban on gambling advertising. McLachlan, who gave evidence to a 2022 inquiry into online gambling harm on behalf of the AFL, said his position has not changed. Tabcorp has long endorsed a total advertising ban.
?I said at the time there?s too much gambling advertising and there should be less... I haven?t started yet so there may be different nuances and positions from where I was at the AFL, but broadly there?s an alignment on that position,? he said.
Tabcorp?s former chief executive Adam Rytenskild stepped down in March after a board investigation following an allegation he used sexually inappropriate language about a female regulatory official. Rytenskild said at the time he did not remember making the comments.
Rytenskild had led the business since it demerged from The Lotteries Corporation in 2022. Tabcorp?s share price has fallen by more than 20 per cent since the demerger was completed and is hovering around 65?. The group is in the midst of a strategic transformation forced by poor macroeconomic conditions and increased competition from global wagering behemoths which have eaten into Tabcorp?s once dominant market share through their strongholds in online sports betting.
Akhurst has worked with McLachlan before in his former roles at Foxtel and Telstra and said on Monday his deep knowledge of wagering, sport and racing would benefit Tabcorp.
?Gill needs no introduction; he is recognised as one of Australia?s leading chief executives and securing Gill is a great vote of confidence for Tabcorp?s future,? he said.
McLachlan led the AFL for close to a decade and left at the end of last season after 20 years with the sport. Over that time, he bought Marvel Stadium and signed two lucrative media broadcast deals, including 2021?s $4.5 billion deal with Foxtel and Channel Seven.
Tabcorp?s share price increased by 10 per cent on Friday after NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the state would consider increasing the point of consumption tax on all bets, meaning Tabcorp?s corporate bookmaking competitors will pay more tax.
McLachlan will join the business in August and assume the role of managing director and chief executive upon all necessary approvals. He will act as an observer under executive chair Bruce Akhurst until then.
?From the outside it looks like a complex leadership challenge? McLachlan told this masthead on Monday morning.
?For me that is quite compelling. I?m attracted to the challenge. To state the obvious, I?ve not led an ASX-listed company before, but in the end I think the principles of leading the AFL apply; direct communication, transparency and hopefully getting the job done,? he said.
McLachlan left the AFL last year after almost a decade in the code?s top job and recently signed as a senior adviser for Blackstone, the US private equity owner of Crown Resorts. McLachlan?s Blackstone role is not full-time. Tabcorp will pay him $1.5 million in addition to bonuses.
McLachlan said there needed to be balance in the intersection between gambling, sport and broadcasting industries.
?There is different views on what balance looks like. You?ve got [the government] weighing up their decisions and then there?s the companies themselves with their own views,? he said.
The federal government is deciding whether to implement a total ban on gambling advertising. McLachlan, who gave evidence to a 2022 inquiry into online gambling harm on behalf of the AFL, said his position has not changed. Tabcorp has long endorsed a total advertising ban.
?I said at the time there?s too much gambling advertising and there should be less... I haven?t started yet so there may be different nuances and positions from where I was at the AFL, but broadly there?s an alignment on that position,? he said.
Tabcorp?s former chief executive Adam Rytenskild stepped down in March after a board investigation following an allegation he used sexually inappropriate language about a female regulatory official. Rytenskild said at the time he did not remember making the comments.
Rytenskild had led the business since it demerged from The Lotteries Corporation in 2022. Tabcorp?s share price has fallen by more than 20 per cent since the demerger was completed and is hovering around 65?. The group is in the midst of a strategic transformation forced by poor macroeconomic conditions and increased competition from global wagering behemoths which have eaten into Tabcorp?s once dominant market share through their strongholds in online sports betting.
Akhurst has worked with McLachlan before in his former roles at Foxtel and Telstra and said on Monday his deep knowledge of wagering, sport and racing would benefit Tabcorp.
?Gill needs no introduction; he is recognised as one of Australia?s leading chief executives and securing Gill is a great vote of confidence for Tabcorp?s future,? he said.
McLachlan led the AFL for close to a decade and left at the end of last season after 20 years with the sport. Over that time, he bought Marvel Stadium and signed two lucrative media broadcast deals, including 2021?s $4.5 billion deal with Foxtel and Channel Seven.
Tabcorp?s share price increased by 10 per cent on Friday after NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the state would consider increasing the point of consumption tax on all bets, meaning Tabcorp?s corporate bookmaking competitors will pay more tax.
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