OpenBet, the sports betting arm of Scientific Games Corporation, has expanded its senior management team with the appointment of Florian Diederichsen and Jessica Feil to new executive roles.
Diederichsen joins OpenBet as chief technology officer, while Feil takes on the role of vice president of regulatory affairs and compliance.
AS CTO, Diederichsen will have a remit to evolve OpenBet’s modular sports product offering and accelerate the next generation of sports betting entertainment.
Diederichsen joins the business having most recently served as CTO at DAZN, where he oversaw the development of an OTT sports service, while he also had a spell as CTO at Perform, a role in which he was responsible for technical operations of global sports content and video services.
Feil takes up her new position after a spell as vice president for government relations and gaming policy at the American Gaming Association (AGA). She will support OpenBet with its expansion plans in regions around the world, including thre US.
OpenBet said both appointments form part of its ongoing strategy of investing in people to create value for customers.
“Bringing Florian and Jessica to the OpenBet team changes the game and is testament to the vision we have here at OpenBet,” OpenBet chief executive Jordan Levin said. “The appointment of two highly skilled and respected individuals demonstrates the ambition we have to deliver the next generation of sports betting entertainment to operators and bettors worldwide.
“As we drive for hyper-differentiation, and with legislation moving at a pace, we can entrust both Florian and Jessica to help take OpenBet forward in their respective fields that will add significant value for our global customer base.”
The double appointment comes after Scientific Games in September last year agreed to divest the OpenBet business to global talent and media agency holding company Endeavor Group for $1.20bn (£880.0m/€1.06bn).
Endeavor, which will fund the deal with $1.0bn in cash and $200m in Class A common stock, said the purchase would complement its position within the sports betting market, created through data specialist IMG Arena.
The combination of OpenBet and IMG Arena, Endeavor said, would create a unique end-to-end solution, delivering official data and video streams, content, mobile products and betting technology solutions to leagues, federations and sportsbooks around the world.
