SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Today marks the first day of Trevor Croker’s reign as Chief Executive of Australia ASX-listed Aristocrat Gaming, taking over from long-term incumbent Jamie Odell (2008-2016), who announced his departure as the firm’s leader last November.
Being officially appointed CEO at Aristocrats Annual General Meeting, Croker stated to investors that he would priorities ‘shareholder growth and product renewal’ as new leader of the gaming machine and systems supplier.
Croker has been a senior executive of Aristocrat since 2016. Hired by Odell as part of the firm’s ‘turnaround team’ Croker has served as Aristocrat’s Chief Digital Officer and Executive VP of Global Product Development.
Aristocrat governance has labelled Croker as a ‘safe hands’ appointment, with the company seeking to continue the leadership momentum of Odell, who appointed in 2008 reversed the company’s market capitalisation from around $1.7 billion to a recent all-time high of around $10.6 billion.
Taking over the leadership of Aristocrat, Croker told investors that while the company would continue to strengthen its core Class-III video slots division, Aristocrat governance would look now seek to bring value-added propositions to its services via in-house development or through M&A activity.
Croker points to the firms expanding digital and social games portfolio which will further enhance Aristocrat’s casino client gaming services.
Seeking a smooth transition for the company, Ian Blackburne, Aristocrat Chairman told investors on Monday that Jamie Odell had agreed to make himself available in an advisory capacity for the next 12 months
