evoke plc. has appointed Mark Summerfield as non-executive chairman to replace Lord Jon Mendelsohn, who has stepped down with immediate effect.

Lord Mendelsohn has served as chairman of the board of evoke since March 2021 and has decided that now is the right time to hand the reins to a new leader to “steward evoke through its next important phase of growth and stability”.

evoke’s new chairman, Summerfield, has served on the board of directors of the betting and gaming operator since 2019 as a non-executive director and chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and the Gaming Compliance Committee.

He will be replaced as chair of the Audit & Risk Committee by Limor Ganot, who assumes the role on an interim basis.

“It has been a privilege to serve as the Chair of evoke,” said Lord Mendelsohn. “It has been a fantastic experience from shepherding the acquisition of William Hill International through to my tenure as interim Executive Chair and, more recently, working closely with the Board and executive team to develop and articulate evoke’s long-term growth strategy.

“Having overseen the transformation of the business into one of the world’s leading betting and gaming companies, now is the right time to hand over to Mark to steward evoke through its next important phase of growth and stability. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved at the Company over the past five years and would like to thank my fellow Board members, the executive team, and the wider organisation for their utmost and unwavering commitment.”

evoke has also today announced the appointment of Anne de Kerckhove as deputy chair of the board, having served as a senior independent director since November 2017.

Summerfield said of his appointment: “It has been one of the highlights of my professional career to have partnered with Jon over the past few years and I will miss his dedication and insight. I look forward to working closely with my fellow Board members, including Anne as Deputy Chair, and the executive team to ensure the successful delivery of our strategy and create significant shareholder value.”

evoke chief executive Per Widerström added: “I would like to thank Jon for his exceptional leadership of the Board and for his support during my transition into the business. He has helped to guide the Company through a period of significant growth and transformation and his insight and collaboration will be missed.

“I am looking forward to working with Mark and Anne in their new roles. Mark has such strong and deep institutional knowledge of the Company, the industry and our strategic priorities, and is ideally positioned to lead the Board and the Company through the next period of growth and development.”

Shares in evoke plc. (LSE:EVOK) were trading 0.24 per cent lower at 42.40 pence per share in London Tuesday morning.