Former International Game Technology PLC (IGT) commercial director Leigh Nissim will soon call the shots in gaming content provider Nektan PLC following his appointment as the new chief executive officer of the publicly listed company.
Nissim, who was previously in charge of IGT’s growth of real money gaming across different channels and a number of regulated markets in Europe and North America, will be replacing Nektan founder and current chief executive Gary Shaw.
Nissim is set to be introduced to Nektan and its employees early in June, before finally taking over the company’s helm by late July, the company said in a disclosure to the London Stock Exchange last May 18.
Jim Wilkinson, chairman of Nektan PLC, said they will be relying on Nissim’s digital and gaming pedigree, as well as the former IGT executive’s financial background, in bringing more revenue growth to the company.
Prior to working for IGT, Wilkinson said Nissim also held other high profile roles including commercial director and UK managing director of SwiftStake Technologies, commercial director of GTECH G2, managing director of St Minver, and chief operating officer for Vitesse Media.
“With his strong track record of successfully growing gambling businesses across our product verticals and within regulated markets, Leigh’s appointment will help Nektan continue its growth momentum and capitalize on new distribution and product opportunities,” Wilkinson said.
At present, Nissim does not currently hold any shares with voting rights in the company, or any options over any of the share capital of the company.
As for Shaw, Wilkinson said he has been given a seat in Nektan’s executive board following his appointment as the company’s director of strategy. The Nektan chair thanked Shaw for fulfilling a crucial role as interim CEO of Nektan after the departure of David Gosen in January.
“As director of Strategy, Gary will remain focused on adding value to the Company through his significant entrepreneurial skills, in particular helping to develop the considerable opportunities available to the Company in Europe and in the US through its joint venture Respin,” Wilkinson said.
