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Investors in Entain are backing interim chief executive Stella David to be given the role on a permanent basis, as the FTSE 100 gambling group reels from a series of abrupt executive departures and legal difficulties.
Three major investors told the Financial Times that David, who chaired Entain’s board before agreeing in February to become interim chief executive, was the right person for the job.
“We would welcome the continuity that Stella staying on as CEO would potentially bring,” one shareholder said. David also led Entain for eight months last year on an interim basis.
“She knows the business, she comes across very well in meetings. Given the alternative — a new chair and a new CEO — I’d much prefer to see Stella stay on in the CEO role and [for Entain to] appoint a new chair,” the person added.
One person close to Entain, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, said the company had recently kicked off a search to find a new chair, confirming a move first reported by Sky News.
David, who has served on Entain’s board since 2021 and was appointed chair last year, may not be deemed sufficiently independent if she were to remain interim chief executive for an extended period of time, the person added. Entain declined to comment.
The UK’s corporate governance code recommends that the role of chief executive and chair be performed by different people, unlike in the US, where it is more common for one person to perform both roles.
David stepped into the chief executive role after the departure of Gavin Isaacs, who left the company abruptly in February after only five months. Entain did not give a reason for his departure.
Isaacs took up the role after the departure of Jette Nygaard-Andersen, who had come under fire from investors after spending £2bn on acquisitions.
Ivor Jones, an analyst at Peel Hunt, said the instability at the top had discouraged investors from buying Entain’s shares, which have fallen 19 per cent this year, valuing the group at £3.6bn.
One major Entain investor questioned whether David would want the job on a full-time basis. She left her last permanent executive role, at family-owned distillery William Grant & Sons, in 2016.
“I think people like Stella and everybody wants her to stay . . . [but] there’s a debate about whether she wants to stay full time or not,” the investor said.
Investors want David to restore some stability to the executive ranks after years of upheaval. If she were to take the job permanently, she would become Entain’s fourth chief executive in the past five years.
Corporate governance has also been under heavy scrutiny at Entain in recent years.
In 2023, the group was fined £615mn after a probe found the company failed to prevent bribery at its former Turkish subsidiary.
Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman, Entain’s former chief executive and chair respectively, subsequently sued the company over information they shared relating to the settlement with HM Revenue & Customs. Entain plans to defend the claim, which it has said previously was “without merit”.
Last year, Australia’s financial crimes watchdog launched legal proceedings against Entain, citing “serious and systemic” non-compliance with anti-money laundering rules.
Entain said previously that it took the allegations “extremely seriously” and that it was enhancing its compliance arrangements.
