Penn’s C-suite recently experienced sweeping changes, two months after its expensive experiment with ESPN Bet came to an abrupt halt. Although CEO Jay Snowden remains at the helm, some of his subordinates have been shown the door, while others have been promoted.
Leadership Change, Renewed Vision
Penn Entertainment has announced a significant restructuring of its executive leadership, marking one of the company’s most seismic internal shake-ups in recent years. The changes come nearly two months after Penn formally ended its ESPN Bet partnership that was supposed to span 10 years but lasted only 26 months.
The regional casino operator has confirmed the departure of Executive Vice Presidents Todd George and Rich Primus from the company. Primus also served as Penn’s chief information officer, and both positions are being eliminated as part of the corporate overhaul.
Under the new leadership structure, Senior Vice Presidents of Regional Operations Rafael Verde and Aaron Rosenthal will report directly to CEO Jay Snowden. Justin Carter, also a senior vice president, will continue overseeing regional operations but will now report to Verde.
One of the most impactful shifts will be the increased role of Chief Technology Officer and Head of Interactive, Aaron LaBerge, who exited Disney nearly two years ago to join the Penn leadership team. The 53-year-old LaBerge will now oversee all enterprise technology across the company, signaling a stronger emphasis on centralized technology strategies.
In a note to investors, Stifel analyst Jeffrey Stantial described the changes as appropriate and potentially beneficial. He said the new structure should allow Penn to better focus on scaling its digital gaming business, including theScore sportsbook, operating exclusively in Canada, and the company’s growing iGaming platform.
Stantial noted that while Penn has made efforts to control costs, the addition of leadership with experience building profitable online sports betting and iCasino brands could improve long-term execution. He reiterated a “buy” rating on the stock with a $21 price target, which is welcome news for a stock that has plummeted from a high of $130 in 2021.
Snowden Weathers the Storm
Penn CEO Jay Snowden has made several ill-advised acquisitions, shifting the company’s focus from a successful regional casino operator to a nascent mobile sports betting competitor whose arrival proved to be too little too late.
Snowden initially spent $650 million purchasing the Barstool Sports media empire that he used to create the Barstool Sportsbook. It was a strategy intended to woo the bro-cultured audience of young males, a key sports betting demographic.
However, after consummating the deal in March 2023, Snowden found the siren song of partnering with sports media giant ESPN too tempting to resist. As a result, Penn entered into a 10-year, $2 billion deal with the Disney subsidiary.
However, as part of the deal, he was forced to divest Penn of Barstool Sports, which saw Snowden selling it back to its founder, the controversial Dave Portnoy, for $1, and 50% of the profits should Barstool Sports be sold at some point in the future.
Portnoy has vowed never to sell, and the ESPN Bet experiment failed to catch fire, capturing between 2% and 3% of the mobile sports betting market, little more than they had with Barstool Sports.
Despite these money-burning decisions and an uprising from stockholders led by HG Vora, demanding that the board be changed to include three of their hand-picked directors, Snowden remains in power, but any future setbacks could see a new Penn CEO taking his place.
