DAZN has named Alex Gersh, a betting-industry finance veteran, as its new chief financial officer, part of a broader executive reshuffle at the global sports streaming group. The changes place former Foxtel chief Patrick Delany in a newly created chief operating officer role and shift outgoing CFO Darren Waterman into a chief business officer position overseeing partnerships and corporate transactions.
The moves matter to the gambling sector because Gersh arrives with a background steeped in sports betting technology, and because the reshuffle raises fresh questions about the direction of DAZN’s own sportsbook, DAZN Bet.
What happened
DAZN announced three appointments to further strengthen its executive leadership team and drive the group’s next phase of profitable growth.
Gersh will replace Darren Waterman as the company’s CFO, while Waterman has been named chief business officer.
Former Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany has accepted the role of Chief Operating Officer.
Gersh brings more than 25 years of international financial leadership across sectors including sports, betting, technology and telecoms at both private and publicly listed companies.
At Sportradar, as CFO, he led the company through its successful NASDAQ listing, and prior to that he was CFO of Betfair and subsequently Paddy Power Betfair following their merger.
Waterman is appointed to the new role of Chief Business Officer, spearheading strategic commercial, partnership and transformational opportunities for the group.
Delany will hold end-to-end responsibility for DAZN’s daily operations, with a central focus on accelerating subscriber and revenue growth, and his remit will encompass operational businesses, pricing and packaging, sports rights renewals and relationships with rights holders.
All three leaders report to Shay Segev, Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
The restructuring also touches DAZN’s regional leadership.
DAZN has confirmed that Alice Mascia has decided to leave the company at the end of the year after four years as CEO in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland).
Why it matters
Gersh’s appointment brings a finance leader with direct betting-sector credentials into a company that operates its own sportsbook alongside its streaming business.
Gersh is already very familiar with the sports sector, having previously worked for the likes of Sportradar and Betfair, with a track record that includes the Nasdaq listing of Sportradar.
For suppliers and operators watching DAZN’s trajectory, that background signals continuity of expertise between the streaming and wagering worlds, even as the group’s structure evolves.
The reshuffle also puts a spotlight on DAZN Bet’s uncertain path.
The executive restructuring will raise questions concerning the future direction of the group’s betting subsidiary, which began 2026 outlining an aggressive expansion strategy active across the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany, with Ontario identified as its first regulated market entry outside Europe.
However, beyond its Canadian expansion, the market has witnessed few developments concerning the brand’s performance, leadership or further integration within DAZN’s wider sports-media platform.
That lack of visible momentum makes the appointment of a betting-literate CFO notable, as it could either accelerate DAZNBet’s integration or precede a strategic review of the unit’s role in the wider group.
The bigger picture
The leadership changes follow a marked financial turnaround for DAZN.
Waterman’s tenure as finance chief included DAZN reaching profitability for the first time in 2025, as well as a period of significant M&A activity.
The company completed its acquisition of Australian pay-TV business Foxtel Group last year and has continued to expand through deals for streaming technology company ViewLift and sports distribution platform EverPass.
Delany’s move to COO follows directly from that dealmaking.
The appointment is deemed critical as Delany will spearhead a new operating strategy for an enlarged DAZN following its acquisition of Australian broadcaster Foxtel in 2025.
DAZN’s ownership structure adds context to the ambition behind the reshuffle:
the business is majority-owned by Access Industries, the investment firm of Sir Len Blavatnik, and has undertaken several strategic changes this decade.
The overhaul places DAZN alongside a growing list of sports-media and betting-adjacent groups recruiting finance and commercial executives with cross-sector experience, reflecting how streaming, data and wagering businesses increasingly draw from the same talent pool. For operators and suppliers tracking where DAZN Bet fits within that portfolio, the coming months of integration under the new leadership team will be worth watching, particularly given the group’s stated ambitions in prediction markets through its existing partnership with Polymarket.
For more on how iGaming groups approach international growth, see our practical expansion playbook.
Sources
- Gambling News – DAZN Names Betting Industry Veteran Alex Gersh CFO Amid Leadership Shifts
- SBC News – DAZN hires big three execs to drive commercial change
- Gaming Intelligence – DAZN unveils new leadership team and appoints Alex Gersh as CFO
- Broadband TV News – DAZN reshuffles leadership team as it targets next phase of growth
- Insider Sport – DAZN names new COO and CFO in leadership shake-up
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