Betfair appointed new Deputy Chairman

He is currently Chairman of Britvic, Moneysupermarket.com Group and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. He is also a non-executive director of the investment and stock broking business, Numis Securities and of Towry Holdings.

Gerald was Chairman of SSL International between 2005 to 2010 and oversaw the successful sale of the business to Reckitt Benckiser. He was Chairman of The Woolworths Group between 2001 and 2007, and was a director of Greencore Group between 2004 and 2010. Gerald was CEO of Railtrack between 1997 and 2000. Previously, he was Group Finance Director for Grand Metropolitan and Redland. He has also served on the boards of MEPC and Burmah Castrol.

At the time of the IPO Betfair made a strong commitment to move towards full compliance with the Combined Code on Corporate Governance and with this in mind, he will take over from Edward Wray as Chairman during the first quarter of 2012. At that point the Board will be compliant with the Code in all respects.

Edward Wray, Betfair Chairman, said: “I am delighted that Gerald is joining the Board. His considerable experience of both the City and the commercial world will be a real asset to the Board and the business.

“This appointment lays the foundations for us to complete our succession plan and enables us to revert to standard governance practice. I look forward to working with Gerald and ensuring a smooth transition for him into the role of Chairman.”

Gerald Corbett said: “I am delighted to be joining such an exciting company as Betfair. The business has achieved a huge amount in its first eleven years and I look forward to working with my new colleagues on the next phase. There are opportunities and challenges and we are well positioned to continue our success.