Richard Segal has agreed to quit by June 1 after declining a request by the board to move to the firm’s offices in Gibraltar from London.
“At the time of last year\’s IPO (initial public offering), Richard agreed to commute each week to PartyGaming\’s headquarters in Gibraltar. Given the rapid growth of the company, he and the board agree that the [chief executive] now needs to be located in Gibraltar along with all the other executive directors,” said PartyGaming in a statement.
“Following discussions with his family, Richard has declined a request by the board to move to Gibraltar and will therefore be leaving the company,” it added.
Segal called Gibraltar the “engine room and the heartbeat of the business” and said he agreed the Chief Executive would need to be based there. “I\’m the only executive who has not relocated himself lock stock and barrel with family to Gibraltar,” he said.
“My decision not to relocate was a difficult one,” he added. “I have got family ties in London that I\’m unable to break and, at the end of the day, I\’m putting my family first.”
Segal, who joined PartyGaming in August 2004 after 16 years in the leisure industry with Rank Group, has netted over £30m from share options given to him by PartyGaming\’s founding shareholders. He is, however, surrendering options over a further 15.6m shares worth almost £20m over the next three years.
Calculators
