OPAP names Karas as chief executive

The Greek gambling operator has made Jan Karas’ appointment permanent after a period as interim CEO.

Greece.- OPAP has appointed Jan Karas as its chief executive on a permanent basis as of January 1. He will also join the board of directors.

Karas has been acting in the role on an interim basis since May after the departure of Damian Cope.

He was previously chief commercial officer of OPAP.

OPAP executive chairman Kamil Ziegler said: “Jan had been serving as OPAP’s acting CEO, contributing significantly to the company’s business initiatives and response to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the impact of the relevant restrictive measures.

“We are looking forward to continue working with him, in his new capacity, in order to implement OPAP’s strategic objectives and address the challenges related to the recovery from the pandemic crisis.”

Karas will join the OPAP board which comprises Ziegler, vice chairmen Spyros Fokas and Pavel Saroch, chief financial officer Pavel Mucha and several non-executive members.

This year, Sazka’s OPAP increased its stake in Stoiximan (Kaizen). The operator saw profits rise in Q3.