Light & Wonder CEO Barry Cottle leaves

  • Push-out Score determined
  • After about four years in the position
  • Praise and thanks for Cottle
  • Matt Wilson taking over temporarily
  • Search for a successor

(exechange) — Las Vegas, Nevada, August 30, 2022 — Barry Cottle, chief executive of Light & Wonder, leaves. As announced by Light & Wonder Inc. in a news release on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, Barry L. Cottle leaves his post as chief executive officer at the specialist in cross-platform games and entertainment, after about four years in the role.

The exact date of Barry Cottle’s departure from his post was not explicitly given in the announcement.

Light & Wonder will undertake a search for a successor.

Barry Cottle’s duties as CEO will be taken over temporarily by Matthew (Matt) Wilson, currently Executive Vice President and Group Chief Executive of Gaming at Light & Wonder Inc., as interim Chief Executive Officer.

It is a generational change. Matt Wilson is about 20 years younger than Barry Cottle.

On its website, Light & Wonder already lists Matt Wilson as Interim CEO, Executive Vice President & Group Chief Executive Officer of Gaming.

“Now is the right time”

Barry Cottle’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Jamie Odell, Executive Chair of Light & Wonder, said: “As we enter the next chapter of our growth journey as the leading cross-platform global game company, we are confident that now is the right time to make this leadership transition.”

Precise information regarding Barry Cottle’s future plans was not immediately available.

“Stepped down”

Light & Wonder said: “Barry Cottle has stepped down as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors and will support a seamless transition as a consultant.”

Share price decline since June 2018

The announcement follows a decline in Light & Wonder Inc.’s share price of 13% since June 2018. June 2018 is the month in which Cottle’s tenure as CEO began.

In the position of CEO since 2018

Barry Cottle became CEO of the Company in 2018.

Barry L. Cottle has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since June 2018.

Cottle has also served as Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of SciPlay since April 2019.

Cottle joined the Company as Chief Executive, SG Interactive, in August 2015 to lead the strategy and growth plans of the Interactive group.

Before joining the Company, Cottle served as Vice Chairman of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. from February 2015 until August 2015 while concurrently serving as Senior Vice President of Technology at MacAndrews & Forbes, a diversified holding company, from February 2015 until August 2017, where he helped drive digital innovation.

Prior to that, he was the Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President — Games for Zynga Inc. from January 2012 until October 2014, where he led corporate and business development, strategic partnerships, distribution, marketing and advertising and ultimately the Social Casino group.

Previously, Cottle served as the Executive Vice President — Interactive for Electronic Arts Inc. from August 2007 to January 2012.

Earlier in his career, Cottle served as the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Quickoffice, Inc.; Chief Operating Officer of Palm, Inc.; and Senior Vice President of Disney TeleVentures, a division of The Walt Disney Company dedicated to creating interactive online/TV experiences.

Push-out Score determined

The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Barry Cottle’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.

exechange reached out to Light & Wonder and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.

Read the full story in the exechange report 36.2022 ($).