Betfair CFO leaving

30.07.2005

Owen O'Donnell, chief financial officer of Betfair is about to leave on 31 August according to a company announcement which is being interpreted as a move to strengthen Betfair's management team before a possible IPO in the first quarter of 2006.

The gambling company recently appointed Morgan Stanley and Goldmann Sachs to advise it on a possible flotation at the beginning of next year, with O'Donnell rumoured to be making way for a more high-profile finance director.

Stephen Hill, chief executive of Betfair, said O'Donnell had made "...a significant contribution to Betfair's development during the past two years. In particular we owe our strong controls environment and efficient financial reporting system to his tenure. We are grateful to him and wish him well in his future career,"Hill added.

There was no indication as to what O'Donnell's future career will entail.

The company said it would announce O'Donnell's successor as it 'entered its next stage of development'.