Vivian Stewart to join Tabcorp board

Tabcorp has appointed experienced strategy, global M&A, capital markets, finance and risk management director and executive Vivian Stewart to its board.

Stewart, is a non-executive director of ASX-listed technology company Superloop Limited who previously served on the board of telecommunications company Big Air Group and worked as chief operating officer at Bigtincan.

“We’re pleased to welcome Vivian to the Tabcorp board. He’s an experienced director with a deep knowledge of the telecommunications and technology sectors, which is critical as it underpins a large part of our business,” Tabcorp chair, Brett Chenoweth, said. 

“His deep knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to evolve and innovate our product offerings. 

“Vivian also brings substantial commercial experience to the business and we’re looking forward to adding his skillsets to the composition of our board.”

Stewart will be formally appointed as a director following regulatory approvals and will act as an observer on the board from November 1.

There were two vacancies on the Tabcorp board following the departure of long-serving directors Bruce Akhurst and Justin Milne over the past 12 months.

Chenoweth took over as chairman from Akhurst in October last year. He is joined on the board by chief executive and managing director Gillon McLachlan and independent non-executive directors Raelene Murphy, David Gallop, Janette Kendall and Karen Stocks.

Tabcorp’s executive team has also undergone a major refresh since McLachlan was appointed in August 2024.

Chief wagering officer Michael Fitzsimons, a former Hong Kong Jockey Club executive, began his new role in August. He joined fellow McLachlan-era recruits, Narelle McKenzie (chief people officer) and Jarrod Villani (chief commercial and media officer), on the nine-person executive team.

Tabcorp, which recently settled a long-running unfair dismissal case with previous chief executive Adam Rytenskild, is set to stage its annual general meeting on Monday.

In announcing its annual results in August, McLachlan confirmed a much healthier set of numbers than the previous year, when the wagering giant reported $1.4 billion in losses.

This time around, group EBITDA was reported at $391.5 million, growth of 23.2 per cent on last year, with revenue up 11.8 per cent to $2.6 billion.

The uplift from the new Victorian licence drove nearly all of that growth, although Tabcorp reported it has banked $39 million in operational savings following a string of well-publicised staff reductions. It also noosted integrity services revenue and posted a net profit after tax of $49.5 million.

“Today’s pleasing results are the outcome of creating a fitter company,” McLachlan said at the time.

“We have increased our wagering and media capability at the leadership level, developed a simpler, more cost-effective operating model and are operating with a bias for action and increased accountability.”

Tabcorp’s share price is now at $1.06 with a market capitalisation of $2.4 billion. It had been as low as 39 cents in September 2024.