John Bryant takes over as Flutter chair

Bryant, whose appointment was announced in April, officially succeeded predecessor Gary McGann today (1 September). The Australian national has also become chair of the nomination committee and is a non-executive director.

The group, whose brands include FanDuel and Paddy Power, describes the former Kellogg Company chief executive’s strengths as extensive experience leading a global consumer goods company and significant expertise in financial, operational and strategic leadership.

“I would like to thank Gary for his excellent stewardship of the Flutter board during his tenure as chair and previously as non-executive director,” Bryant said. “His expertise, professionalism and commitment are greatly appreciated and, on behalf of the board, I wish Gary well in the future.”

Bryant is currently a non-executive director of Compass Group plc, Ball Corporation and Coca-Cola European Partners. He spent 20 years at Kellogg Company between 1998-2018, acting across a series of senior roles including CEO and chair.

Commenting in April, Flutter CEO Peter Jackson, said: “I am very much looking forward to working with John. His experience will be invaluable as Flutter continues to execute its growth strategy.”

Strong US performance

Earlier this month, Flutter revealed its US business reached a “profitability inflection point” during H1 2023, with CEO Peter Jackson describing the period as “pivotal”.

Total revenue for the first half was £4.81bn, up from £3.39bn in the same period last year. Of this figure, £3.00bn came from sports betting and £1.81bn gaming.

As Jackson stated, the US was by far the highlight for Flutter in H1. Revenue was up 71.0% to £1.79bn, of which 98% came from the FanDuel brand, while adjusted EBITDA turned from a £132m loss to a plus of £49m.