Jette Nygaard-Andersen appointed to LivaNova’s Board of Directors

Jette Nygaard-Andersen has joined LivaNova, a medical technical company, and been appointed to its Board of Directors. 

Nygaard-Andersen was once a major figure in the gambling industry, operating as the CEO and Executive Director of Entain for over four years. 

She led the company through some of its most turbulent years in recent history, including the pandemic, the bribery allegations regarding its Turkish business and dozens of M&A deals. 

Prior to Entain, she worked primarily in media, running the Modern Times Group as CEO of Digital Video content and EVP MTG AV. 

She has also worked with digital media companies producing content specifically for Gen Z audiences, Engage Sports Media, ESL and Astralis. 

Interestingly, she was appointed as Chair for Astralis, a major esports team, to prepare them for the upcoming public offering. In December 2019, she pushed Astralis through an IPO and onto NASDAQ as the first Pure-Play eSports company to go public globally.

But her time with Entain was not without its detractors. 

Nygaard-Andersen’s legacy

In October 2021, DraftKings offered to buy Entain for £16.2bn ($22.4bn). The American company had initially made a £25-per-share proposal, but raised this to £28-per-share. 

The offer was rejected at a time when Entains shares were priced at £22.10. After rejecting the deal, Entain’s shares would continue to slowly drop until they hit a three-year low of £8.00.

During this time, Entain acquired 11 different companies, totalling over £2bn in acquisition costs. These included Klondaika, Totolotek, BetCity, STS and Angstrom Sports. 

Unikrn was acquired in 2021, then closed by Entain less than two years later. 

While the specifics weren’t publicly announced, rumours from Unikrn employees pointed towards years of mismanagement from Entain, or more specifically, the people Entain hired to run Unikrn after it was acquired. 

This wasn’t the only business move from Entain that seemed questionable. On 16 June 2023, Eminence Capital would publish an open letter voicing its displeasure at the £717m acquisition of STS. The investment firm, which had 2% of all Entain shares, said that the deal was ‘tone deaf’ and stated ‘the management either doesn’t understand finance or, worse, that they believe the company’s shareholders are naïve’.

Nygaard-Andersen’s future 

Perhaps, faced with such high pressure and scrutiny from the industry, it is no surprise to see Nygaard-Andersen pivot away from media, gaming and gambling altogether. 

Her interest in the medical world is nothing new. She joined Coloplast, a major MedTech company, in 2015 as a Non-Executive Director before being made Chair of the Board in 2025. 

LivaNova, her new venture, is also in the medical technology field. The company creates innovative creations for a range of conditions, such as seizures, depression and cardiovascular issues. 

From her position on the Board of Directors and the Nominating and Governance Committee, Nygaard-Andersen will advise on company strategy and its long-term impact – one, that undoubtedly, will be a positive one.