On April 8, Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd (AGT) issued named former Novomatic executive Lawrence Levy as their new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), reports GGRAsia. This move will take effect on July 1.
Levy comes with an impressive record. The new CEO has spent 37 years in the gambling industry, most recently as the vice president of global sales at Novomatic. In this capacity, he helped develop strategies that turned his former company into one of the leaders in innovative gambling technology across the globe.
Ainsworth had announced last September that their current CEO, Danny Gladstone, would be leaving the company as of June 30 of this year. The group has been looking to find an executive that can get them out of a recent slump in sales.
In February, the company reported that despite showing an increase in overall profits, its revenue dropped by 2% over the second half of 2018. In addition, the amount of profit after tax dropped by 47% in comparison to the same period of time for 2018.
This news was not a huge surprise as AGT had already reported in November about their concerns of how competitive the Australian market was getting. In their filing to the Australian Stock exchange, they explained, “[t]he previously noted highly competitive conditions in the Australian market are continuing in FY19. ‘Competitive’ Aussie market leads to lower profit forecast for Ainsworth Revenues and PBT [profit before tax] for the Australian segment are expected to be materially lower for 1HFY19 compared to the PCP [prior corresponding period]. Overall industry demand has fallen by around 10%.”
However, this has not deterred the company from seeking to improve profits. In early March, AGT reached an agreement with Logrand to launch the first online gambling casino using BtoBet technology. This gave them a strong presence in the Latin American market.
Because of the success that Levy had with Novomatic, executives at Ainsworth are hoping that he can bring that same energy and vision into his new position. Explained company chairman Graeme Campbell, “I am confident that he will further assist the company achieve its strategies to become a leading provider of innovative gaming technology to the global market.”
An interesting part of this development is that Levy received no fixed term to his contract. His continued stay in this position will be reviewed annually by the Board of Directors. The new CEO receives an annual salary of $700,000 with annual bonuses that could increase his salary to $1 million.
