Betsson Recruits Peter Frey as New CPO/CTO

Stockholm-based iGaming operator, Betsson Group, has looked into the very summit of media world for their next hire. Former Chief Technology Officer of the country's largest media corporation Bonnier News, Peter Frey, was recruited by Betsson where he will be merging two positions – Chief Product Officer and CTO – into one!

One of Sweden's most respected media technology executives and a veteran of the industry in his own right is appointed to the newly created, conjoined role as part of the larger managerial overhaul.

Closing the Gap

Company executives explain the merging of these roles as an attempt to increase business efficiency as well as to close the gap between technology and business.

Frey's innumerable experience in the world of media will be a great asset to this cause...

...His tech expertise goes way back, as he spent most of his career working in the media: it was during his spell with the company that Aftonbladet – Swedish evening newspaper – became the most visited news portal in the country, a feat that was in most part his doing.

Having moved to Bonnier News, he repeated this success with Expressen – ironically, Aftonladet's main competitor at the time. While there, he was responsible for the development of technology within the company.

Prioritization and Strategy

In Betsson, whom Frey will join within next couple of months, his main job will be to focus on business prioritization and inputs from strategy and operations divisions. He will work closely with CCO, Ronni Hartvig.

Betsson Operations' CEO, Jesper Svensson, said:

“Throughout his career, Peter has shown that he can deliver highly user-centric products and is therefore a perfect match for Betsson. With fewer layers in the organisation we know we can be more efficient, as we did with the successful merger of marketing and commercial a while back.”

He added the efficient delivery of business driven initiatives is the number one priority and that, through the combining of CPO and CTO roles, Frey will be balancing capacity changes and “ensuring swift delivery of improvements to customer experience.”

As One Door Closes...

At the start of 2018, former CTO and CPO, Stefan Nordin and Jorg Malang, left the company and the company appointed Director of Sportsbook Technology George Adamson acting CTO while Peter Zall held the role of an interim CPO.

In December, the brand partnered up with solutions provider, EGT Interactive. They formed a content-based partnership that EGT, mainly working with Baltic operators, implemented on their numerous websites.

Over in the United Kingdom, Betsson was forced to terminate the operations of one of its subsidiaries – NetPlay. After formulating 2019's strategies, renewing the contracts with TV stations that worked with NetPlay was not seen as a priority, effectively closing the door on it.

Former managers and operatives were transferred to company's Malta offices.

Source:

“Betsson merges CPO and CTO roles with a new strong recruit from the media world”, George Miller, europeangaming.eu, January 21, 2019.