Strategy & Operations » Leadership & Management » Betfair CFO lined up for top finance job in Paddy Power merger

Betfair CFO lined up for top finance job in Paddy Power merger

Alex Gersh set to serve as CFO of combined Paddy Power/Betfair business

BETFAIR’S CFO would retain the role if the company were to merge with Paddy Power, the companies have revealed today.

Alex Gersh, who has served as CFO since 2012, would stay on in the role for the combined entity. No future role for Paddy Power CFO Cormac McCarthy was outlined in the businesses’ joint statement to the London Stock Exchange. The two companies also explained the rationale behind creating a £1bn+ group by revenues.

The group’s “scale and capabilities” would enable it to better compete in the increasingly competitive online betting marketplace. Their businesses are complementary in terms of brand and geographic mix. The deal plan comes as Ladbrokes and Coral are looking to merge their businesses.

Gersh will no doubt also be heavily involved in the process of outlining and delivering cost and revenue synergies, another key aspect flagged up in the statement to the London Stock Exchange.

He worked with Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran on a £30m efficiency drive, which saw 700 jobs cut.

Interviewed by Financial Director in June, Gersh said that staff morale “dramatically improved” despite fears about this post-restructuring.

“People now realised that they mattered, they didn’t have to clear everything 15 times, and they have a direct line to me or to Breon or Mark Brooker or anyone at the senior management level,” he said.

Under the new structure, Corcoran would become CEO of the combined group, while Paddy Power chairman would hold the same role for the new entity. Paddy Power CEO Andy McCue would become COO and an executive director.

Gersh joined Betfair in 2012, having served as FD in a number of other companies, including NDS Group, Flag Telecom and BT Cellnet.

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