William Hill PLC, the 83-year-old bookmaker, recently named Philip Bowcock as chief executive officer, a position he held in an interim status since James Henderson was removed from the board in July 2016 after the company’s online betting operations fell behind competitors. Bowcock joined William Hill as chief financial officer in November 2015.
A Chartered Management Accountant, Bowcock previously was finance director at Cineworld Group for nearly four years. He also served as finance director at Luminar PLC and held senior finance roles at Barratt Developments PLC and Tesco. Bowcock also was vice president of finance at Hilton Group for seven years, when the company owned Ladbrokes.
During Bowcock’s brief tenure at William Hill, he presided over a takeover attempt by 888 Holdings in August and a failed proposed merger between William Hill and Amaya following shareholder objections. Also several competitors have consolidated through mergers and acquisitions.
William Hill Chairman Gareth Davis said, “Since his appointment as interim chief executive officer last July, Philip has driven the business forward at real pace and we have seen important progress across our online, retail and international businesses over that time. Our recent results show that William Hill is now in a stronger position and Philip has outlined a clear plan to continue that momentum into the future.”
Davis added the company interviewed at least 10 other candidates before naming Bowcock, who had no betting industry experience before joining William Hill. “We saw a lot of people, but he was the standout candidate. His leadership has shone through in a challenging period and the board were absolutely unanimous that he’s the right man for the job,” Davis said.
Bowcock stated, “I am proud to be chosen to lead William Hill, a business that millions of customers trust and a brand that is synonymous with betting. During my time at the helm, I have had the opportunity to lead a passionate, talented and committed team and we have made considerable operational progress in recent months. The team and I are excited by the opportunity to keep improving our position in all our key markets whilst delivering a great experience for our customers.”
He noted, “There’s a long way to go still, but we’ve come a long way” in William Hill’s online business. “This time last year, the sports book was going backwards by 5 percent. We just announced that for the first seven weeks of this year it’s gone forward by 10 percent,” Bowcock said.
