Veikkaus continues to prepare for the opening of Finland’s liberalised betting and gaming market with the addition of former IGT executive Charles Cohen to its Board of Directors.
At the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) this week, Veikkaus confirmed that two new members will join the Board, adding significant international real-money gaming and financial management experience to the group.
Cohen was at IGT for nearly seven years as vice president of mobile, having previously founded AIM-listed mobile games provider Probability plc, which was sold to IGT (then GTECH) in May 2014. He also founded London-based Department of Trust, a provider of financial KYC for safer gambling, and serves as an advisory Board member for Games Global.
He will be joined on the Veikkaus Board by Martti Ala-Härkönen, a strategic chief financial officer with significant experience in business transformation.
The company’s Board now comprises seven members with Kaisa Olkkonen re-elected chairman, serving alongside Leena Vainiomäki as vice chairman, and Minna Pajumaa, Ossi Lindroos and Katri Harra-Salonen as Board members.
“Veikkaus’ Board of Directors is now strengthened with significant experience in the international money gaming industry and financial management,” said Olkkonen. “Veikkaus’ vision is to be a respected and successful international money gaming group by 2030.
“Ala-Härkönen and Cohen will bring us much-needed valuable experience to support Veikkaus’ Transformation journey.”
Commenting on his appointment, Cohen said: “I’m honoured today to have been elected to the board of Veikkaus Oy. I’ve long admired them from my days at IGT, in particular their deep commitment to responsible gambling, strong operational skills and creative flair. The next few years will be a chance to demonstrate that these are the qualities needed for a successful global business, not just a national champion.”
Anne Larilahti, Juha Väre and Christian Cedercreutz had previously announced that they would no longer serve on the Veikkaus Board.