Betfair and Rorie Devine part company

Rorie Devine, chief technology officer of online betting success story Betfair has left the company. The move is described as mutual and that he will be working out his notice period.

Devine joined Betfair in 2004 following a career in financial institutions, start ups and media heavy weights Reuters. His passion for the exchange business model used by Betfair, as well as household names Ebay, influenced the career decision.

Betfair said it has engaged a head hunting agency to find a replacement for the affable Devine.

Devine’s 300 strong IT team makes up 25 per cent of the Betfair workforce in west London. In a recent interview with CIO, Devine described the organisation as, “There is ambition at Betfair and it’s a genuine challege, but I love every day, there is always a new thing to do.”

Devine could feature highly on the shopping lists of organisations looking for a CIO with ambition: “I always wanted to be at the heart of the action. I wanted to be with a company where IT is central.”

In a statement Betfair CEO, David Yu, said: “Over the last four and half years, Rorie transformed our technology team from that of a growing start-up to one which powers one of the most successful internet businesses. He introduced processes and rigour that resulted in our site becoming more stable and performing better. He also led the department through exceptional growth with headcount tripling and the inclusion of many new products across our portfolio. He leaves with my sincere thanks for all his contributions.”

Read the full CIO interview with Rorie Devine here: Betfair CTO Rory Devine placed his bet on people