Entain plc announced that Barry Gibson has given notice that he wishes to retire from his role as Chair and from the Board. Barry will step down by the end of September 2024, and potentially earlier depending on the timing of the appointment of a permanent CEO. The search for a permanent CEO is ongoing and is progressing well.

A process to identify his replacement has been part of the Board's ongoing succession planning, and it announced that Stella David will become Chair on Barry's retirement. Stella was a non-executive director and Senior Independent Director from 4 March 2021 and became interim CEO of Entain in December 2023. Barry was appointed to the Board of Entain in November 2019 and became Chair in February 2020.

During his time as Chair, Barry has played an integral role in the transformation from GVC to Entain, which has included a significant improvement in the quality of the Group's operations, revenues, governance processes, and procedures. He has also overseen the renewal of the Board, the Group's focus on operating only in regulated or regulating markets, and the resolution of the HMRC investigation into the Group's legacy Turkish facing operations. During his tenure, the Group has grown its EBITDA by over 50% to approximately £1bn in 2023, and its US joint venture, BetMGM, has gone from a start-up to being a $2 billion revenue business with a strong market position and outstanding growth prospects.

Further information about Stella David: Stella has been interim CEO of Entain since December 2023 and was previously a non-executive director and Senior Independent Director from 4 March 2021. She is a non-executive director of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. where she is also chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee, and is a non-executive director of the privately-owned Bacardi Ltd. She was previously CEO of William Grant & Sons, following more than 15 years with Bacardi Ltd. She was chair of C&J Clark Ltd. (having previously acted as interim chief executive officer), chair of Vue International, non-executive director and senior independent director of HomeServe plc, non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at the Nationwide Building Society, and non-executive director of Domino's Pizza Group plc.