Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, has announced that its chairman plans to step down by the end of September. The company is also looking for a new chief executive. Barry Gibson, who has been in the role for just over four years, will retire. Stella David, the interim chief executive, will take over as chair. It comes as the group searches for a new top boss after Jette Nygaard-Andersen stepped down suddenly in December just weeks after a legal settlement and sports results that went against the bookmaker. Ms David, formerly a non-executive director at Entain, took over at the helm on an interim basis. Entain said their search for a permanent chief executive is "progressing". They added that Mr Gibson might step down earlier than the end of September, depending on when a new chief executive is appointed. Mr Gibson said: "It has been a privilege to lead the board of Entain for the past four years, and while I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at this dynamic, exciting and innovative business, I reflected a little while ago that 2024 would be the right time for me to retire." "I am delighted that, in Stella, Entain has an exceptional successor who knows the business well and has already proven herself to be a firm hand on the tiller in her role as interim chief executive." Ms David commented: "I am entirely focused on my role as interim CEO as we work to accelerate our operational strategy, and look forward to taking over the baton from Barry in due course." Entain has had a tough year, according to its latest yearly results. The company reported a pre-tax loss of £842.6million, down from a profit of £102.9million in 2022. This was after it paid £585million to settle a case about possible bribery at a former
Turkish subsidiary and other costs, mainly from its business in Australia . Entain also said that changes in
UK and Dutch rules will lower its earnings by about £40million this year. The company has been feeling pressure from investors who want change. In January, Entain said it added Ricky Sandler, the head of Eminence Capital, to its board. Before joining, Mr Sandler suggested that Entain should sell some or all of its share in a big US partnership. He is now part of Entain's capital allocation committee and its people and governance committee. Entain is also working on making the business simpler and saving £70million a year in costs by 2025.