Penn Entertainment announced that Aaron LaBerge has been appointed as the new Chief Technology Officer. LaBerge was previously a President at The Walt Disney Company.
LaBerge is set to take over the role of CTO at Penn Entertainment as of 1 July. Jay Snowden, the chief executive officer and president of Penn Entertainment, will be his direct report.
LaBerge, as CTO of Penn Interactive will be in charge of driving technology strategy for the company. He will be the leader of a team of multinational technologists, as well as serve in a key leadership role for Penn Interactive.
LaBerge has joined Penn following almost six years at The Walt Disney Company. He was previously president and chief technology officer of Disney Entertainment, and ESPN. He also served as president and chief technology officer for Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution.
LaBerge spent six years at ESPN, where he held several technology-related senior roles. These positions included four as CTO and executive vice president.
LaBerge was CEO and co-founder of Fanzter, a software company, earlier in his career. LaBerge spent five years at ESPN as the senior vice president of technology and products development.
He also worked at Starwave Corporation, Renaissance Interactive, and the Walt Disney Internet Group.
LaBerge supports Penn’s ESPN Bet expansion
LaBerge will play a key role in Penn’s ongoing launch of the ESPN Bet US brand.
ESPN Bet was created by Penn, a partnership between Disney and ESPN (the largest sports media company in the US) that partnered with Penn for $1.5bn.
ESPN decided to enter the sports betting market last August, striking a deal Penn. Penn will operate ESPN Bet, while ESPN will promote the app on its broadcast and online platforms.
ESPN Bet, incidentally, is the rebranded version of Barstool Sportsbook, an existing app for sports betting. Penn stated that it had sold Barstool Sports to the founder Dave Portnoy in August of last year for just $1.
In November, ESPN Bet launched in 17 US states. In February, it acquired Wynn Interactive’s New York Sports Betting licences. Penn can now launch ESPN Bet later in the year.
LaBerge stated, “I am excited to lead Penn Interactive’s technology strategy and join another talented team.” Penn Entertainment, a leader in the rapidly changing gaming and sports media industries.
I plan to utilize my Disney and ESPN experience to make ESPN Bet a vital piece of the fan’s experience. We’ll redefine the way fans engage with sport and gaming.
Snowden continued: “We’re thrilled that someone of Aaron’s caliber has joined our Penn executive staff. There is no one better to head our Technology and Interactive Division. Aaron has overseen an organisation that includes thousands of engineers and product developers as well as designers, technologists and data scientists.
Aaron will be working closely with the entire Executive Team. “He will further strengthen our position as the leader of online gambling, sports betting, and digital sport media.”
