Changes are afoot at DraftKings.
The company Monday announced that Chief Financial Officer Jason Park will be DraftKings’ Chief Transformation Officer, a newly created role, effective May 1, 2024. Park will be charged with leading initiatives to deploy “cutting-edge technologies to capture additional operating efficiencies as well as oversee the integration of the proposed acquisition of Jackpocket Inc.” according to a company release.
DraftKings acquired Jackpocket, a lottery app, in February.
Also, DraftKings Senior Vice President, Finance and Analytics Alan Ellingson will be appointed to Chief Financial Officer effective May 1, 2024.
“I have asked Jason Park to take on a new role at DraftKings to address and capture large efficiency opportunities that I expect will generate significant incremental profitability over the coming years,” said DraftKings CEO and Co-founder Jason Robins in a statement. “Jason’s unique skill set, based on his accomplishments over the last five years as our Chief Financial Officer and 11 years as a private equity operating partner, will allow us to further improve how we operate. In addition, I’m confident he will unlock the benefits of our proposed acquisition of Jackpocket following its closing to strengthen DraftKings’ position in U.S. online gaming. There are also potentially transformational AI applications on the horizon that could change the way businesses operate and serve their customers to create potential long-term advantages.”
Jefferies analyst David Katz looks favorably on the personnel changes.
“The company’s CFO Jason Park taking on the new role of chief transformation officer, and appointing Alan Ellingson as a replacement should be an incremental positive, given the outlook remains solid, while the opportunities to yield the business more efficiently should be additive,” Katz wrote in a statement. “Our view has been that the business should continue to improve execution coupled with market growth positions the long-term earnings power at considerably higher levels.”
Park, who oversaw DraftKings’ transition to public markets, joined the company as chief financial officer in June 2019. During Park’s tenure as CFO, DraftKings’ revenue grew from $323 million in 2019 to $3.6 billion in 2023. The company’s stock price also increased 325% from the time Park took over as CFO through March 14, 2024.
“I am thrilled to take on this new role which tackles several significant opportunities to improve how we operate and taps into my passion for building great and highly efficient companies,” Park said. “Alan is perfectly suited to seamlessly step into the chief financial officer role as an established company leader with deep credibility across the entire organization. I look forward to assisting with this transition and continuing to deliver value for our shareholders. We will provide more information on the transformation program during our next earnings call.”
Ellingson joined DraftKings in 2020 and currently serves as the senior vice president of finance and analytics. He has worked with Park to develop a world-class finance and accounting organization, including building the forecasting capabilities that support the creation, tracking, and ongoing refresh of DraftKings’ multi-year financial objectives.
“I am very excited to elevate Alan Ellingson to chief financial officer and have him continue to lead the company on the very clear path that we have laid out,” Robins said. “Alan has been with DraftKings for more than four years, has extensive experience across our finance and analytics teams, and most importantly, deeply understands our core value drivers and focus on maximizing shareholder value.”
“We have built a world class finance organization, and I look forward to expanding my leadership role with the team,” said Ellingson. “In addition, I look forward to working closely with Jason Robins to deliver outstanding financial performance and generate incredible shareholder returns.”
