ISABELLE ANDRES INTERVIEW
CV Isabelle Andres
1991-8 1999-2001 2001-6 2006-9 2009-present
Works at Paris-based radio station Europe 2 Communication Joins Radio France as ?nance, administration and HR director Becomes CFO, then deputy CEO, at TV production group Téléimages Joins Locatel Group as chief ?nancial officer Becomes CFO, then deputy CEO and ultimately CEO of Betclic Everest Group
back their licences in recent months, with 888 the latest to do so. Andres admits the situation will not improve unless regulations change. “Having the regulators from different countries discussing the possibility of merging the liquidities, that could drive the market up, de?nitely,” she says. “Now, it is a difficult market. In the short term, honestly, I don’t think regulation will make things easier,” she adds. Taking charge When Martos left Betclic Everest, he described Andres as “the best possible director general” to take over. Before joining the operator in 2009, she worked at Locatel, a ?rm supplying multimedia solutions to the hospitality and healthcare sector, and she held senior ?nancial management positions at media companies including Téléimages International and Radio France. A recurring theme throughout her career, she argues, is having to “build from scratch a lot of things – my team, departments, strategy and above all, adapt to changes of business models”. “I’m proud of that. I like to take a difficult situation, look at it and divide big problems into several simple ones and solve them. For me, online gaming is a wonderful industry, because there is a mix of regulation and evolving business models. Understanding the products, the commercial side and how the customers react is complex, but very interesting, and I love it.
“I’m pragmatic. You need to have a strategy and know what you believe in, and for that you need to know your industry and your competitors. Then it’s all about having a good team and good people, managing them and executing well; for me, execution is probably 80% of the job,” she adds. Yet Martos’ resignation led to media reports that interference from, and a breakdown in relations with, Lov Group founder Stéphane Courbit was the cause for his departure. The speculation was unhelpful for a company looking for stability after Martos’ short 12-month stint as CEO, but Andres insists the reports were wide of the mark. “To be straightforward, all those things about Stéphane interfering, I don’t see it,” she says. “Ignacio probably went quicker than one could expect because after only six to nine months he could show pro?t, after a year of loss in 2011, so he could say his mission was accomplished.” Embracing regulation Betclic Everest’s expansion into regulated jurisdictions and managing the arising complications is high on Andres’ agenda for the year, with the German market of particular interest. The group’s other brand, bet-at-home, is licensed in Schleswig-Holstein but entry into the federal market has been put on hold after the jurisdiction last year announced its return to the federal State Treaty, the compatibility of which with EU law remains in question after a ruling from a German court. Bet-at-home’s gross gaming revenues increased 17.4% year-on-year, according to the full-year results for 2012, and Andres “does not see any reason” why federal licences would not be awarded soon, having submitted applications for both the Betclic and bet-at-home brands. So far, Andres admits ring-fenced regulation in Europe has proved a great challenge for the group to overcome. However, she believes the transition to dot.country markets makes the industry as a whole more creditable. “Taking France as an example, because it was one of the ?rst to regulate and obviously we have a big stake of this market, we de?nitely took a hit, but it was a very good lesson for us,” she says. “It was a hit in the ?rst year because we saw our revenues divided by two, more or less, casino wasn’t allowed any more, a rise in taxes, and pro?tability was de?nitely very low, not to say negative. But then we adapted to this market and we found ways to grow as a busines ??????????????????????????????????????????????t?Q???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????q?????????????????????????t????M??????L???????????????????????????????????????????L????????????????? ??????????e?????