Former Chartwell Exec Joins Boyle Sports

Ireland's largest independent bookmaker hires a highly experienced industry exec Ireland's largest independent bookmaker, Boylesports, announced the appointment of Lee Richardson as CEO this week. Richardson, a highly experienced online gambling executive, was formerly chief executive of Chartwell Games International. John Boyle, the owner of Boylesports, said this week: “I'm delighted to welcome Lee to Boylesports, he brings to us a wealth of industry experience and is joining at a key time in the company's development. We have some very exciting projects in the pipeline and with the upcoming 2010 World Cup, I have no doubt that Lee will contribute greatly to the success of the company. I am sure the entire management team will give Lee their full support in growing Boylesports' business in our key territories of Ireland and the UK.” Commenting on his appointment, Richardson said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to be leading Boylesports at such a crucial point on its' impressive growth curve. I am especially looking forward to working with the talented team already in place, and to help further grow the business in 2010 and beyond.” Originally a production engineer with General Motors in 1979, Richardson switched to Hertz Corporation in 1981, where he held a number of senior marketing and sales positions with Hertz Europe, based in both London and Brussels, latterly as director of marketing planning for Europe, Middle East and Africa. He joined the British Horseracing Board in 1993, becoming the industry's first marketing director; and was responsible for the creation of a new, award-winning, GBP-multi-million sponsorship channel, and the successful launch of Sunday Racing with betting. In 1998, he became managing director of Tote Direct, a joint venture between the Tote, Ladbrokes and Coral, a network of on-line betting terminals second only in size to the UK National Lottery. He led the management team which successfully developed and launched the Tote scoop6, the first new TV horseracing bet in 25 years, and which achieved record tote pools, dividends and off-course market share. In early 2000, he was appointed managing director of Totalbet.com, the on-line betting division of the Tote, which launched the first-ever system to take UK Tote bets over the internet. Appointed chief operating officer, non-retail for Coral Eurobet plc in late 2000, he was responsible for the profitable development of the group's online sports betting and gaming operations; developed new products and channels, and ran Coral's other UK non-retail operations, including interactive TV and telephone betting. In 2004, he was appointed chief executive of Chartwell Games International, the worldwide licensing, marketing and business-development arm of Toronto-listed Chartwell Technology Inc., a leading gaming software provider. Based in London and Malta, he held full responsibility for Chartwell's global client base and new business development Richardson holds an MBA from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow), is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing, and has been a Chartered Marketer since 1999. Married with two daughters, his hobbies include restoring and driving classic cars.