UK operator Virgin Media O2 appointed former CEO of gambling giant William Hill Ulrik Bengtsson as its next COO, replacing Jeff Dodds who is departing to take a CEO job elsewhere.

In a statement, Virgin Media O2 highlighted the executive will be charged with improving customer experience and implementing its related digital initiatives.

Bengtsson spent almost three years in charge at William Hill from 2019. He left as the company’s European business was acquired by rival bookmaker 888, having already split it from the US operation owned by Caesars Entertainment.

Virgin Media O2 noted the executive had transformed his former employer by “driving investment in technology and digital capability” with the company’s retail footprint refocused and “modernised”.

Dodds will leave in the coming months: his destination is yet to be announced.

Alongside a change of COO, Virgin Media O2 replaced its MD of fixed network expansion Rob Evans with Julie Agnew.

Agnew has led the division on an interim basis since the start of the year, having been at Virgin Media for 20 years across several roles. Evans left the job for personal reasons.