City trading house IG Group has picked former Paddy Power Betfair boss Breon Corcoran as its new CEO.
He replaces June Felix, who left due to poor health in August.
IG has struggled this year as the pandemic-era retail trading boom slowed down. In October, it laid off 10% of its staff as part of a cost-cutting scheme to save £50 million.
Corcoran was CEO of Betfair from 2016 until its merger with Paddy Power to create the gambling giant now known as Flutter. He was also in charge of payments business WorldRemit, leaving in 2022 as its plans to go public stalled. Crocoran is currently chair of Auction Technology Group.
Mike McTighe, IG Group chair, said: "I am very pleased to announce Breon's appointment following a comprehensive global search.
“He is a proven leader of high performing teams within multinational organisations, with an ability to deliver results for all stakeholders. The board is confident that Breon is the right person to lead IG and deliver the next phase of growth.
“I look forward to working with him.”
Interim IG Group CEO Charlie Rozes will stay in that position until Corcorann joins on 29 January, after which he will return to being CFO.
Corcoran said: “I am delighted to be joining IG Group. It's a business I've long admired. I look forward to working with the Board and executives to build on its current successes.”
Meanwhile Flutter, the company that Corcoran helped create, revealed the date that it will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. It will start trading on 29 January, the day Corcoran starts his new job, and will cancel its Dublin-listed shares the week before. Its primary listing will remain in London for now, meaning it will remain a FTSE 100 member, but management has repeatedly suggested that the long-term goal is a primary listing in the US, and membership of US indices.
