Rafi Ashkenazi Appointed CEO of PokerStars Parent Company The Rational Group
ONCHAN, ISLE OF MAN –Rational Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Scheinberg today announced that Rafi Ashkenazi has joined the Group as Chief Operating Officer and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Group and its brands, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, the two largest online poker sites in the world.
Ashkenazi is an experienced gaming industry executive and joins Rational Group from Playtech, a global gaming software company, where he served as COO and board member. Ashkenazi spent seven years with Playtech, directing the day-to-day operational and business activities as the company grew rapidly from 200 to more than 2,400 employees.
Since launching PokerStars in 2001, the Rational Group of companies has become the industry leader with a focus on operational excellence and customer satisfaction.
“As the Group grows and continues to develop our business globally and across multiple platforms and brands, we need to strengthen the leadership of its increasingly complex operations,” said Scheinberg. “Rafi is a fine executive with outstanding management and people skills and has been very successful directing the operational complexities of a global gaming company. I am very happy that he will bring that expertise to our senior management team.”
“With PokerStars, the Rational Group has built a stellar reputation by continually raising the bar with high-quality, trusted products while delivering best-in-class customer support and service,” said Ashkenazi. “I am excited to join the team and add my skills to that tradition of industry leadership.”
Ashkenazi assumes his role Feb. 1 and will be responsible for all customer-facing product and back-office functions for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker including marketing, customer support, poker room management, IT management, payment processing & security, and game integrity. He will be based in Rational Group’s Isle of Man headquarters and report to Scheinberg.
