Fortuna Entertainment names David Vaněk as CEO

David Vaněk will replace Per Widerström as CEO of the European betting group.

Czech Republic.- Fortuna Entertainment has promoted David Vaněk, general manager of its Czech unit, to group CEO from March 1.

Vaněk replaces Per Widerström, who ends his seven-year tenure at the helm of the betting group, which has a presence in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Poland and Romania.

Widerström has led Fortuna since 2015 and oversaw a transformation of the Czech betting firm, updating its legacy systems and strategies and expanding rapidly in CEE markets. Widerström thanked Fortuna’s owner, the private equity firm Penta Investments, for supporting his strategy.

He said: “Seven years is indeed a long time and there are so many people I would like to thank for having been with me and FEG during this journey, be it our customers, business partners or other stakeholders.

“In particular, I would like to thank all the fantastic employees who have made FEG into the great company it is today as well as to thank Penta Investments for their great support and collaboration. Leaving Fortuna at this time feels right, in particular knowing that the company is well poised for further growth as well as being in very good hands with David and the rest of the executive team.”

Fortuna now employs around 6,200 employees and operates more than 3,300 betting shops in regulated markets. Vaněk has led Fortuna’s Czech business, its largest unit since 2016.

He said: “I am proud to have been given this opportunity to lead Fortuna in its next phase of development. I am truly excited about the tremendous potential that the company has and I am looking forward to leveraging the group’s extensive know-how to deliver a market-leading value proposition to all our customers.”

Last September, industry veteran Carlo Di Maio was named as chief executive of Fortuna Entertainment’s FEG Romania subsidiary. Di Maio previously served as general manager of Goldbet and Intralot sportsbook divisions for Italy’s Gamenet Group SPA and led multi-market operations for Eurobet under the Gala Coral group.

See also: Fortuna launches virtual sports platform in Croatia