Chris Matthews to leave Buzz Bingo after five years as CEO

Matthews will be replaced by chief operating officer Dominic Mansour.

UK.- The UK-based bingo chain Buzz Bingo has confirmed that Chris Matthews is to leave his role as CEO after five years. Chief operating officer Dominic Mansour has been named as his replacement.

Matthews oversaw Buzz Bingo’s rebrand from Gala Bingo and its relaunch this year following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Buzz Bingo chair John Kelly OBE said: “Chris has successfully led the business through a change of ownership, two years of pandemic disruption, and a reorganisation of the company’s property portfolio. Under his excellent stewardship, the Buzz brand was born, as was BuzzBingo.com, both of which have grown from strength to strength.

“We want to thank Chris for his leadership and wish him the best of good fortune for the future.”

Matthews said: “This has been a difficult decision – especially when you care about a business as much as I do about Buzz. That said, I do believe that with the company now profitable after the Covid shutdown and digital growing rapidly, the timing couldn’t be better to hand the baton over to an excellent candidate such as Dominic.”

Mansour has been with Buzz Bingo since the start of last year. He previously worked in senior positions at Bragg Gaming, PokerStars and International Game Technology.

He said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work alongside Chris since joining Buzz Bingo in January 2021. I have learnt a tremendous amount from him as to what it takes to grow and protect this much-loved brand.

“The business is in good shape for the future and I am excited to lead it on its onward journey, alongside the very talented management team and with the support of our hard-working and committed colleagues.”

Last year, Caledonia Investments sold a majority stake in the bingo chain to asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICG). The price for the transaction was described as a “nominal amount”.