Allwyn UK is restructuring its senior leadership team as it enters the next stage of its transformation of The National Lottery.
The changes include the elimination of three executive roles and the creation of new chief digital officer and chief marketing officer positions.
The company said the changes follow what it describes as the biggest modernisation of the lottery since its launch in 1994. The new structure, which aims to accelerate growth and increase returns to Good Causes, will take effect on 1 December 2026.
The Chief Technology Officer, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer and Managing Director for Digital Positions will come to an end. Technology capabilities will be integrated more directly into Digital, Retail and Security, while responsibility for strategy and the future direction of the business will move to CEO Phil Walker.
Mark Smith, the outgoing Chief Technology Officer, will leave the company but continue as Technology Strategy Adviser until June 2027. Sarah Venning, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, will leave at the end of November 2026, while Richard Dawkins, Managing Director for Digital, will depart in December after nearly three years in the role.
Dawkins led the digital business through a period of change and drove innovation in the games portfolio.
The new Chief Digital Officer will oversee digital products and channels, customer experience, technology, data and platforms, automation and AI, as well as the Commercial Performance of Allwyn's digital channels.
The Chief Marketing Officer will bring together responsibility for brand, marketing, creative, CRM, communications, product marketing, winners' services and customer experience.
Stephen Taylor will join as Interim Chief Marketing Officer on 17 November 2026. He has more than 30 years of marketing experience across consumer brands including PayPal, Samsung, Nokia and Pizza Express. He joins from CMO Thrive, the strategic marketing advisory business he founded.
Meanwhile, current Chief Impact Officer Alastair Ruxton will become Director of Social Impact, a newly created position reporting to Walker. He will focus on communicating the National Lottery's contribution to communities across the UK and strengthening the connection between Good Causes, social value and the lottery's wider proposition.
Walker said: “The transformation of The National Lottery has involved an enormous amount of work across our business. Our challenge now is to turn that transformation into stronger growth, a better experience for players and retail partners, and more money for Good Causes.
“That means putting customers closer to our decisions, giving our Retail and Digital businesses the capabilities they need to compete and innovate, and creating much clearer accountability for performance.”
Eva Slámová has recently been announced as Allwyn’s regional Chief People & Culture Officer for the Czech Republic
