BetStars names Lee as managing director
The Stars Group has appointed former William Hill Online chief Andrew Lee as MD of its BetStars sportsbook arm.
The PokerStars owner said Lee, who will assume the reins from Zeno Ossko, would be responsible for the performance, growth and strategic direction of the sports betting business.
Stars Group CEO Rafi Ashkenazi described Lee as “an experienced operator with proven credentials of developing an industry leading online and mobile sportsbook.”
Lee, despite being widely tipped as a potential successor to William Hill boss Ralph Topping, departed William Hill in January 2016 in the wake of a review of its online division initiated by Topping’s successor James Henderson, subsequently fired the following July.
He came into the Hills business as one of several high-profile “wise men” analyst hires by Topping in April 2012, joining from Jefferies the same time as Paul Leyland from Investec, and being appointed online MD in October 2012.
Talks between The Stars Group and William Hill over a potential £4.6bn merger fell apart in October 2016 after Hills' largest investor Parvus Asset Management said the merger would “destroy shareholder value”. Lee's appointment is set to rekindle speculation that the talks are back on.
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