UK business figureheads join SAZKA’s National Lottery bid team
SAZKA Group has announced four new executive hires bolstering its UK leadership team, as the Czech gambling conglomerate aims to win the Fourth National Lottery Competition.
Having formally submitted its application to compete for the UK’s next 10-year National Lottery concession (starting 2023). This month SAZKA revealed that its bid team would be formally led by Sir Keith Mills, the former President of London successful 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games campaign committees.
Mills will be joined by former London 2012 telecommunications director Emma Young as the bid team’s Transition Lead. Young will take charge of key bid requirements related to transition and exit planning, reporting directly to SAZKA Group CTO Tony Khatskevich.
The bid team’s supply chain management will be led by procurement expert Gerry Walsh, who will be responsible for developing SAZKA’s UK partner and distribution strategy.
A former executive to the London 2012 Olympic committee, Walsh is the former CEO of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply and had previously led global supply chain management for American Express, Premier Foods, Associated British Foods and Procter & Gamble.
The bid’s HR and organisational requirements will be led by Rob Clarke, a 25-year executive in corporate planning for mass-market organisations. Clarke is a former HR advisor for the IOC and has led global HR operations for Safeway, Carlsberg and MFI Retail.
SAZKA’s final appointment sees IT and data intelligence figurehead Steve James join the bid team as ‘Network Area Lead’ – charged with designing all related data and network controls and components related to SAZKA’s bid. The executive will devise SAZKA’s network strategy alongside Group CTO Tony Khatskevich as the Operations Project Executive.
James has formally designed network requirements for the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup and since 2014 he is a technology advisor to the IOC, providing impartial assessment and advice on network infrastructure projects for all Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
The Fourth National Lottery Competition will see SAZKA compete against current incumbent Camelot Group and Indian national lottery operator Sugal & Damani, as the companies’ which have so far put forward applications to the UK Gambling Commission.
Source: SBC News
