Coyne takes up chief customer officer post at Stars Group

Christopher Coyne

Former Crown chief marketing officer, Christopher Coyne, has reappeared on the gaming industry spectrum as the new chief customer officer at online gaming company, Stars Group.

The newly created position sits across the Stars Interactive gaming division. In a statement, the company said Coyne will be tasked with representing the customer across the business to help deliver the best experience possible. He officially commenced the role in August.

Stars Group owns a number of brands and events including Pokerstars, Betstars and Full Tilt.

“My job is to add the extra 5 per cent to the customer experience,” Coyne told CMO. “This was already a great business before I joined so it’s about building on that.”

An early focus is on the group’s mobile app, as well as the recently launched Stars Rewards loyalty program.

Coyne is no stranger to the gaming sector, working at Paddy Power from 2011 to 2014 in the UK before relocating to Australia to take up the CMO role across Crown Resorts. During this time, a major focus was on utilising the group’s data stores across its gaming and hotel properties to improve customer engagement, transforming its customer loyalty program, and upping the ante around its digital and mobile app properties.

Read more: CMO50 2016 #26-50: Christopher Coyne, Crown Resorts

He was also responsible for signing a sponsorship deal with the Melbourne Storm rugby league team in 2015.

Coyne left Crown Resorts last year amid speculation about a restructuring of the Crown business that also saw a number of high-profile departures including former chairman, Rob Rankin, and CEO, Rowen Craigie.

In an article on Gaming Intelligence, Stars Group chief executive, Rafi Ashkenazi, said Coyne’s wealth of senior experience across a range of gaming, entertainment and consumer brands would be a huge asset for the group.

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