James game for success with tombola
Sunderland-based online gaming firm tombola has appointed a new chief operating officer as the company targets further growth.
James Beard, 41, has held various roles at Sage for more than 12 years, and left the enterprise software company as business development director for Europe, Asia and Africa.
James joins a new management team at tombola, with four new heads of department having been appointed over the summer.
The company’s chief executive Phil Cronin explained: “In 2015 we said our ambition was to double our turnover and our headcount in five years.
“So far, we have exceeded targets set in our 2020 strategy and I’ve no doubt that James’ knowledge, drive and experience will help us deliver our ambitious strategy for accelerated growth.
“James understands the ethos, values and culture of tombola and he also understands our commitment to Sunderland – we want tombola to be a growing Sunderland business which continues to recruit from within the city and wider North East.”
Brought up in Cambridgeshire, James studied economics and management at Leeds University before working as a senior analyst at Goldman Sachs for nearly five years.
He joined Sage as Group Business Development Analyst in 2005 before joining the company’s Sage Pay Division, where he worked in several managerial roles.
Speaking of his move to tombola, he said: “I’m now looking forward to leveraging that experience and knowledge to help drive tombola forward.
“The potential for growth here is huge. All the talk used to be about startups, but now it’s all about scale-ups and there’s such a massive opportunity for that here at tombola.”
James identified both the UK and international online gaming markets as areas for expansion.
“There’s a lot more we can do with bingo and our arcade games here in the UK, especially with arcade only being in its infancy, but there are huge opportunities overseas too,” he said.
He added that while tombola is readying for a change of pace and size, there are certain things that will certainly not change.
“Our culture, our core beliefs and the fact that we’re a family-owned, North East business based in Sunderland are key differentiators and will not change.
“Our new HQ is under construction next to our offices and will give us significant room for growth.”