Nueva Codere proposes ex-Ladbrokes CEO Chris Bell as non-executive chairman

Former Ladbrokes chief executive Chris Bell will step down from his roles at XLMedia and Rank Group.

Spain.- Nueva Codere, Spain’s former Codere Group, has named former Ladbrokes chief executive Chris Bell as its new non-executive chairman.

Bell will step down from his current roles as non-executive chairman of XLMedia and as an independent director at Rank Group to fully devote his time to Codere. The appointment remains subject to approval at Nueva Codere’s shareholder general meeting on February 7.

Bell previously spent close to two decades at Hilton Group/Ladbrokes from 1991. He was appointed to the group’s board of directors in 2001. He served as CEO of Ladbrokes for four years from 2006, following the sale of Hilton Hotels.

Bell has held several senior non-executive roles since leaving Ladbrokes in 2010, including as chairman of Game Group and TechFinancials, and senior independent director of Quintain Estates and Development. He is also currently a non-executive chair at Team17 Group, OnTheMarket and a non-executive director of The Royal Airforce Charitable Trust.

Bell said: “Codere has demonstrated over the past 40 years its fundamental strength, versatility and leadership. It is exciting to be a part of this project and promote this new stage that the company has initiated on its way back to a growth path and consolidation as a leading multinational in the private gambling industry. 

“I am truly honoured for the trust placed in me and committed to the creation of value after this difficult period. The company has a management team and talent that will undoubtedly encourage its promising potential.”

XLMedia chief executive Stuart Simms said: “We are very grateful to Chris for his exceptional service to XLMedia. I would like to personally thank him for his practical support and wise counsel. 

“Chris has been very supportive as we have sought to restructure to become more agile and align the business with new growth markets – an initiative we will complete during the first half of this year – as well as integrating three hugely successful US acquisitions, which we believe will be pivotal to our long-term success.”

Nueva Codere emerged in November through a debt-for-equity takeover by creditors agreed in April. It has undergone a corporate reorganisation, with four new companies created in Luxembourg: Codere New Topco, Codere New Midco Sàrl, Codere New Holdco S.A. and Codere Luxembourg 3 Sàrl.