Late in 2013, iNTERGAMINGi spoke to Thomas Smallwood, who had just been appointed CEO of Austria-based operator planetwin365. Twelve months on, the chief executive is in reflective mood.
SOME brands have a knack of catching the eye beyond the boundaries of their core markets. This is certainly true for planetwin365, the international online and retail bookmaker based in Innsbruck, Austria.
The operator’s diverting yellow and black branding is a distinctive feature at ICE in London, as is a stand bustling with sports stars and glamour. SKS365 Group – the owner of the planetwin365 brand – is a company that likes to make a noise and a little over a year ago, it appointed Thomas Smallwood as its new CEO.
For Smallwood, it was a considerable challenge but not one he was daunted by. A professional move to an operator and a personal relocation across Europe might have been more than enough to be getting on with but just a year in, he has already overseen several key strategic shifts at SKS365. INTERGAMINGi talked to Smallwood about his first year and what he hopes to achieve in his second.
“From a work perspective, it’s been a challenge to move across from the service provider side to an operator. But generally speaking it has been a positive experience all round.
“It takes a bit of time to understand the values and what the company is all about but it’s been a positive experience across the board; personally, professionally and from a company point of view.”
In late 2013, Smallwood talked to iNTERGAMINGi about the strategic review of the SKS365 business he had initiated. Is that process over now? “The strategic review is always an ongoing thing, I think.
“In this industry we have to be fairly flexible as things can change a lot and it’s pretty fast-paced. But sure, a few things needed attention.” Such as?
“One of the major things we did was bringing all the IT operations in-house - we used to outsource that. It’s a painful process, you can’t deny it, but it brings value to the company and in the shorter and the longer term it means you have ownership of all innovation. It’s a sensible move.”
Read the full article in the latest issue of iNTERGAMINGi
