La Liga side Espanyol sacked Dir General & CEO RAMON ROBERT. He joined the club in Nov. '12, when Espanyol was led by former President JOAN COLLET (EL PAÍS, 1/9). ... Retailer House of Fraser Exec Chair FRANK SLEVIN will become British Cycling's independent chair, replacing JONATHAN BROWNING, who stepped down in November after "just nine months in the job" (BBC, 1/10). ... Paddy Power Betfair appointed DAN TAYLOR as CEO of its Europe operations and BARNI EVANS as CEO of Sportsbet, the group's operations in Australia. Both positions will report to company CEO PETER JACKSON. Taylor will be responsible for the Paddy Power and Betfair brands "across all channels and geographies" outside of the U.S. The position is a new one within the company. Taylor was previously managing director of the group's U.K. and Ireland operations. Evans is currently Sportsbet's CCO (RTÉ, 1/10). ... The Winter Games New Zealand board announced the appointment of MARTIN TOOMEY as CEO. Current Snow Sports NZ CEO Toomey will start his role in March. He replaces long-standing Winter Games NZ CEO ARTHUR KLAP, who stepped down after 12 years (Int’l Ski Federation).
COACHES/MANAGERS: Manager HUSSEIN AMOTTA was sacked by African Champions League winner Wydad Casablanca after a "poor first half of the season." Amotta, who also won the Moroccan league in '17, was on the final shortlist for the Confederation of African Football's Coach of the Year award (BBC, 1/9).
