Longtime directors Cawley and Byng-Thorne to exit Flutter board

Cawley is the chief operating officer and deputy chief executive of Irish airline Ryanair, a role he has held since 2003, having joined the business as chief financial officer in 1997.
Cawley was first appointed to the board of what was then Paddy Power in 2013 and, during his time as a director, he oversaw a number of mergers and acquisitions to create the current Flutter business, including its acquisition of The Stars Group in 2020.

However, he will not seek re-election to Flutter’s board at the 2022 annual general meeting and will instead step down from its board.

Holly Keller Koeppel, who has been a non-executive director since May 2021, will replace Cawley as chair of Flutter’s audit committee.

Byng-Thorne, meanwhile, is the chief executive of Future plc, which owns a number of media brands such as PC Gamer and Marie Claire. She had been a member of Betfair’s board of directors before it merged with Paddy Power.

She will seek re-election in April. However, she will not do so in 2023. Byng-Thorne will also step down from the role of chair of Flutter’s risk and sustainability committee, being replaced in this role by Dave Lazzarato, but she will remain on this committee.

“I wish to take this opportunity to thank Michael and Zillah for their exceptional contribution to the board over the past nine years,” Flutter chairman Gary McCann said. “We wish Michael well for the future and I look forward to continuing to work with Zillah during her remaining term as a director.”