New chairman for William Hill plc

Online and land gambling group William Hill plc has announced that Roger Devlin, a highly experienced entertainment industry executive, is to take over as chairman when current incumbent Gareth Davies departs in April next year.

The appointment comes at the end of a detailed search process for picking a successor for Davis, who had indicated he would step down after the 2018 AGM.

Davis, who also chairs Ferguson plc and DS Smith plc, has seen William Hill walk out of talks on two potential deals in the last year including a three-way merger with bingo hall operator Rank Group plc and 888 Holdings plc (see previous reports).

Media reports had also suggested that Davis came under attack from the company’s investors over failed merger talks with the Canadian company Amaya.

The Reuters news agency notes that the appointment of a new chairman caps a year of management transitions in the company, which named a new CEO and CFO in March.

Devlin is also chairman of British pubs company Marston’s plc since September 2013, and Sports Information Services (Holdings) Limited for the past nine years. SIS has released a statement advising that Devlin will leave its board at the end of January next year.

Devlin will join the William Hill board on Feb. 1 and will start as chairman on April 2, when Davis steps down.