Paddy Power say hello to One Touch, bid farewell to CMO Gav Thompson

Irish betting operator Paddy Power has bid goodbye to its chief marketing officer after less than one year on the job.

On Wednesday, PR Week reported that Paddy CMO Gav Thompson (pictured0 would be leaving the company following its merger with UK betting exchange Betfair. Betfair’s current CMO Jonathan Devitt will assume Thompson’s duties, and will reportedly oversee marketing for the enlarged Paddy Power Betfair entity.

Thompson’s departure comes as a bit of surprise, given that the two companies had pledged to maintain a “dual brand strategy” in order to preserve the infinitely more cheeky tone Paddy’s marketing is known to strike. Neither company has so far seen fit to comment publicly on Thompson’s departure.

PR Week understood that Thompson’s exit wouldn’t necessarily lead to a consolidation of Paddy Power’s agencies. Last June, Paddy abruptly switched its ad agency contract from BMB to Lucky Generals, a move that took place within days of Thompson taking the Paddy job.