Amaya has announced that Rafi Ashkenazi is to become the new chief executive officer of Rational Group, the company’s subsidiary that operates the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands.
Ashkenazi will replace current chief executive Michael Hazel from November 9.
Hazel will remain with the firm for a “brief” transition period before handing full control to Ashkenazi.
Ashkenazi joined Rational Group in 2013 as chief operating officer following a move from Playtech, where he had held a similar role.
Following Amaya’s acquisition of Rational Group last year, Ashkenazi was moved to the role of senior vice-president for strategy.
“I look forward to re-joining the excellent team at Rational Group and working with them to continue to extend our leadership in online gaming,” Ashkenazi said.
“We have great opportunities in the near future with our upcoming launch in New Jersey, the expansion of our casino and sports-betting businesses and our mission to grow the poker category.”
David Baazov, chief executive of Amaya, added: “Rafi has been working very closely this year with our executive management team and returns to Rational Group with an even greater knowledge of our corporate strategy, vision and goals.
“Combining this knowledge with his operational expertise makes him an ideal leader for the Rational Group.”
Confirmation of Hazel’s departure comes after it was revealed last month that he and three other senior executives at Rational Group had been identified by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) as the subjects of a lengthy investigation related Amaya’s application for an online gaming licence in the US state.
As reported by iGaming Business, the NJDGE confirmed that it had requested the four executives in question to be fired before Amaya could gain the licence.
Although at the time the identity of the four executives was not revealed, it has since been confirmed that Hazel is one of those in question.
Israel Rosenthal, director of operations at Rational, Charels Fabian, former head of games systems development, and software manager Serge Bourkenkov were confirmed as the other three executives.
Amaya noted that despite the departure of Hazel, the other three executives will continue in their roles and report directly to Ashkenazi.
