WALLACE TURNS DOWN WILL HILL JOB

16 November 2007

Head hunt fails as top financial exec stays with Ladbrokes


Rumours flashing around London business circles recently that a Ladbrokes exec had been offered the CEO post at William Hill were confirmed this week when The Times reported that Ladbrokes finance director Brian Wallace had withdrawn from the short list.

The Times opined that top executives rarely move job between Britain’s two biggest betting shop rivals, but reported that William Hill had approached Wallace on the chief executive’s post vacated by David Harding at the end of September. But having made it to the final shortlist of two candidates, Wallace apparently withdrew from the process.

Other names believed to have been considered by Egon Zehnder, the head-hunter retained by William Hill, included: Ian Penrose, the chief executive of Sportech, the football pools operator; Roger Devlin, the Principal Hotels chairman and former corporate development director at Hilton Group; and Graham Bartlett, managing director of the UK retail business of E.ON, the German energy group.

Speculation is rife that Wallace’s decision to withdraw his candidacy may be motivated by the possibility of succeeding present Ladbroke's CEO Chris Bell. However, The Times' sources dismissed the rumour as “nonsense”, insisting that Wallace had kept Bell fully informed of the approach from William Hill. “He decided not to pursue the William Hill job for his own personal reasons,” one source said.

Wallace was previously finance director and deputy chief executive of Hilton Group, stepping down last year after it sold its hotel division to focus on the Ladbrokes gambling business. He is understood to be on a 12 month contract with Ladbrokes.

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