The broom of change is sweeping through Tabcorp, with three new key appointments announced by CEO Gillon McLachlan, including former Channel Ten executive Jarrod Villani to head up the media business, which contains Sky Racing.
McLachlan had been promising significant change to Tabcorp since he started in the chief executive role in September and a refresh of the executive was expected by the end of 2024.
There are three new faces on the Tabcorp executive team, Villani as Chief Commercial and Media Officer, Narelle McKenzie as Chief Legal Officer and Robert Fraser as Chief Technology and Transformation Officer.
There has also been the creation of a Chief Wagering Officer role, bringing together the core wagering functions of digital, retail, trading, marketing and product, including Tote innovation. The successful candidate for that role is expected to be announced early in 2025.
Tabcorp also announced that Chief Customer Officer Jenni Barnett and Chief Information Officer Alan Sharvin will be leaving the business.
“The changes to our structure will increase our wagering capability and drive growth across both wagering and media,” McLachlan said.
“It allows one executive to control the key wagering assets within our ecosystem. It’s a simpler model that brings our wagering team together to drive first-class execution.”
Tabcorp has been previously criticised for its lack of pure wagering expertise, and McLachlan’s appointment did little to appease that criticism given his previous core skillset was in sports and business administration.
Bren O’Brien
Villani spent three years as Regional Leader of Paramount ANZ, overseeing the Australian commercial and operational aspects of Network 10 and Paramount+. He had previously worked at advisory and investment firm KordaMentha.
“Jarrod has extensive transformation experience, particularly in the media sector. Jarrod’s role will ensure that we deliver stronger commercial outcomes and maximise the unique asset base at Tabcorp, particularly Sky Racing,” McLachlan said.
“You’re seeing continued change. We will have an executive team with market-leading experience in wagering and media. They will be responsible for driving our revenue and will have control of the assets that only Tabcorp has at its disposal in the Australian wagering market.”
Sky Racing, which broadcasts racing vision from Australia and around the world into the Australian market has long been viewed as having significant potential, but lacking innovation. Villani’s appointment is designed to address this.
“Tabcorp is a great Australian company, with a unique and valuable asset base, it’s an exciting time for the company. I’m looking forward to working with Gill, our team and partners across the business to unlock the value that lies within our assets,” Villani said.
“There’s no sports entertainment ecosystem like it in Australia and I’m excited by the growth opportunities as we continue the company’s transformation.”
He described Sky Racing as having untapped potential.
“I think there’s a real opportunity to innovate the viewing experience and look at new commercial opportunities within the business. This, combined with a network presence of some 4,000 venues, presents a very unique and valuable proposition,” he said.
“There’s no sports entertainment ecosystem like it in Australia and I’m excited by the growth opportunities as we continue the company’s transformation." - Jarrod Villani
McKenzie has held multiple General Counsel roles at Telstra over a 20-year career, while Fraser has received an internal promotion, having previously been Chief Transformation Officer.
He has over 15 years’ experience in enterprise transformation across digital operations, data and strategic partnering, while he was previously a senior executive with Ausnet Services with responsibility for Transformation, Data Science and AI.
“We are moving quickly to execute on the exciting opportunities that lie within our unique asset base and today’s changes are an example of that. I look forward to updating shareholders on our progress and our evolved strategy as part of our half-year results in February,” McLachlan said.
Aushorse Investor’s Guide 2025
- More Races worth $1 million+ than Europe & America combined
- More than 140,000 Australians involved in racehorse ownership
McLachlan had flagged the major changes during Tabcorp’s annual general meeting in October.
“You will see continued change in the business. The people will change as the plan evolves,:” McLachlan said at the time.
“I’ve got a laser focus on people, capability and execution. A key focus will be bringing in additional wagering capability and experience at senior leadership levels. Wagering is the foundation of our company.”
Warwick Barr
McLachlan has been tasked with turning around a once dominant publicly listed wagering company which has struggled since the demerger with The Lottery Corporation.
It announced a $1.36 billion loss for the 2023/24 financial year, while its share price crashed to a low of 39 cents at one point, although it has since rebounded to 59 cents.
Tabcorp confirmed this month it had been making headcount reductions which amount to about 10 per cent of its full-time workforce of 2000.
Bren O’Brien
