Racecourse Media names chief product officer

Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the umbrella organisation for 35 British racecourse shareholders and parent company of Racing TV, has named Ryan Thurburn as chief product officer.

Ryan Thurburn

Thurburn joins from BoyleSports, where he is director of product, and will take up the position in October.

RMG has created this new role as part of an increasing strategic focus on using innovation to enhance engagement with horseracing and grow returns to the sport.

Thurburn and his team will focus on delivering customer experience through RMG’s products and enabling the business to work closely with the betting industry to create new opportunities for growth, RMG said.

Thurburn has worked in the betting industry all his career. At BoyleSports he was involved in building the first data-led product strategy, and restructure and grow the Product and UX/UI functions for the organisation. He also led multi-functional transformation activities across the business, adopting agile product development and delivery methodologies. He was previously at Entain, where he was head of sportsbook product and then director of product for Ladbrokes Coral.

Thurburn said: “I’m thrilled to be joining RMG, which has achieved great success through driving innovation in racing – the bedrock of the betting industry. As someone who has worked within betting for many years, the opportunity to influence positively the direction of the sport through product innovation, for the consumer, whilst stimulating growth for shareholders, is one that fosters excitement and passion. I am very much looking forward to working with the RMG leadership team as well as other internal and external stakeholders to define a modern, forward thinking, innovative vision and strategy to cultivate growth for shareholders – with customers and the sport at the very heart of everything.”

Martin Stevenson, CEO of RMG, said: “In such a competitive environment, innovation is key to the future success of our business, products, and the sport. Our recent roll-out of in-play demonstrates the innovation opportunities that can be available to horseracing with the right technology, vision, and execution. Ryan undoubtedly has the track record to develop that vision and create the strategy to achieve it. We warmly welcome Ryan, who is held in high regard within the betting industry. His appointment is a hugely positive step in helping us to continue delivering the best possible returns for our racecourses and the sport of horseracing.”