RE: Perhaps another strong up day with a stellar CEO appointment25 Jul 2023 07:28
Per's BIO
Biography:
· Per Widerström, 57, is a global business leader with an excellent track record of value creation across multiple leading companies in the betting and gaming industry, in both public and private companies, and in non-executive and executive roles.
· Per was CEO of Fortuna Entertainment Group from 2014 to 2022, where he was instrumental in designing and delivering a five-year value creation plan to grow Fortuna into the leading omni-channel regulated operator in Central and Eastern Europe. Per's plan centred around improving technology and product, gaining market share in existing and new territories via driving operational excellence, and accelerating growth through M&A. During his tenure at Fortuna, EBITDA grew from €25m to €150m by 2020.
· Prior to Fortuna, he was Managing Director of Gala Interactive at Gala Coral Group Plc from 2011 to 2014, where he took part in transitioning the business from a retail-centric culture to an online-first approach, including building an entirely new team and operations for the Gala interactive business resulting in a trebling of EBITDA. Per was also the chair of Gala Coral Interactive, where his responsibilities included ensuring collaboration and knowledge sharing between the two businesses.
· Earlier in his career, he was Chief Operating Officer of PartyGaming plc from 2010 to 2011 and subsequently Chief Integration Officer at Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc following its merger in 2011.
· Per's first role in gambling was as group CEO and Chair of the Board at Expekt.com from 2006 to 2009, a European focused betting and gaming brand where he led transformational growth through to its €120m sale.
· Prior to joining the gaming industry, Per held a range of senior operational and commercial roles at large global organisations, including COO of Kyivstar, CEO of Telenor Mobile Sweden, and Director, Operational Marketing and Business Development for The Coca-Cola Nordic Services.
· Per holds Masters in International Accounting and Finance from the LSE