Rank Group names gaming veteran John O'Reilly as boss

Casinos operator Rank Group on Monday named gaming veteran John O’Reilly as its new chief executive.

The 57-year-old will start the role on May 7, succeeding Henry Birch, who resigned in March to take the top job at online retailer Shop Direct.

The appointment comes as Rank, which operates Grosvenor casinos and Mecca bingo halls, seeks to grow online to offset the slowdown at its venues. It also wants to attract younger players.

O’Reilly has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.

He previously led Ladbrokes’ digital operations and worked to relaunch the Coral brand online. Since January 2017 he has been a non-executive director at William Hill. He will step down from the board.

Rank’s chairman Ian Burke said: “His impressive reputation and track record for delivering growth mean he is well equipped to drive our performance going forward.”

The company has also appointed Alan Morgan, retail managing director, to the board as executive director.