Rank Group Hires Former Manchester United Bigwig As New CFO

Rank Group have made a significant appointment by hiring former Manchester United bigwig Cliff Baty as their new interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO). With a wealth of experience under his belt, the recruitment of Baty represents another significant coup for UK-based gambling giants Rank.

Baty is set to start in his fresh role as of next week (23 February), and he has held several top positions in the past. More pertinently, his experience at United appeared to make him a standout candidate.

Steering the wheel at Manchester United

During his eight-year stint at United, Baty was responsible for controlling the Premier League club’s revenue streams and cost bases.

This included overseeing a raft of commercial operations, such as player transfers and leading investor relations. On his LinkedIn profile, Baty drew attention to some of his key accomplishments:

• Selling a significant stake (28%) of United to Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a world record valuation for a football team of $6.4 billion as part of a strategic review in 2024.
• Chairing the club’s Risk Committee, which helped govern the business through the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Supporting United’s digital strategy with knowledge acquired from the gaming industry. This included developing a club app and engaging the fanbase, as revenues soared fourfold.

A welcome addition to the leadership structure

Baty’s expertise in financial planning and conducting strategic reviews caught Rank’s eye. This was emphasised in the statement that the London Stock Exchange-listed (LSE) company put out.

It read:

“The Rank Group Plc is pleased to announce that Cliff Baty has been appointed as interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective from 23 February 2026. Cliff will join the Group’s Executive Committee.

“Cliff is a highly experienced CFO with deep expertise in strategic and financial planning, investor relations, financial controls, international business operations, and stakeholder management, built across listed leisure and gaming businesses.”

Shuffling the pack

The hiring of Baty is the latest in the series of fresh Rank appointments. Rank has been going through a recruitment drive, and last week, they announced the appointment of former Allwyn UK operations director Jenny Blogg as their interim Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), and she is set to start on 16 March.

Although Rank recently published a strong set of financial results, with operating profit growing to £40.6 million, compared to £33m for the 2024/25 trading period, the company is going through some personnel changes. Last month, John O’Reilly confirmed he would be standing down as CEO, leaving a power vacuum.

Meanwhile, at board level, John H. Ott replaced Alex Thursby as the chair of the gambling group, and Richard Harris is currently serving as the Interim CEO. It has been suggested in recent weeks that Harris could be a possible successor to O’Reilly.

A foot in both camps

Although Baty’s time at United will have captivated the attention of the Rank board, it would be remiss to overlook his iGaming experience. Indeed, Baty functioned as a CFO at Sportech, where he worked closely to implement strategic and financial decisions across the group.

In addition, Baty spent over eight years at Entain, which owns a series of reputable UK betting sites, such as Ladbrokes. As financial director, he helped drive revenue growth, and with the betting industry facing significant headwinds owing to the November budget, Baty’s versatility could help Rank tackle its challenges head-on.