Codere appoints Villalba as new CFO

Villalba replaces Óscar Fernández de Llano, who recently stepped down from the position due to personal reasons.

As CFO, Villalba will lead Codere’s financial strategy after the refinancing and support the business in strengthening its investor relations. 

Villalba joins Codere after a spell as CFO and member of the executive committee at Deoleo Group. Here, he oversaw the accounting and administration, management control, treasury, investor relations, tax and IT departments.

Prior to this, Villalba spent over 17 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers. This included working across audit, transaction services and business recovery services.  

“This appointment is of great relevance in this new stage of the group, in which Codere seeks to consolidate its project and generate value in the market,” Codere said. “Villalba’s versatility and solid financial experience are a valuable asset to the company.

“This is part of Codere’s strategic evolution and its ongoing commitment to strengthen its leadership in the private gaming sector.”

Changing of the guard

Villalba’s appointment comes after Codere this month also named Gonzaga Higuero as its new chief executive. As CEO, Higuero will be tasked with leading Codere’s growth plans across its core operating markets.

Codere in June also added Michal Elimelech to its board of directors.

The change in senior management followed Codere Online reporting a lower net loss during the first quarter.

Codere posted year-on-year growth across all its operating markets in the three months to 31 March. Each regional operation experienced a double-digit increase in revenue.

Total revenue was up 54.9% year-on-year. Spanish revenue increased 39.4%, while Mexico revenue climbed 76.0% and Colombia revenue 53.3%.

Adjusted EBITDA loss improved from €13.2m to €2.3m, while net loss was slashed from €10.1m to €1.1m.