Ivan Ortiz leaves UBET for LGIAsuper

Ortiz played integral role in the creation of the new Tatts Group wagering brand, UBET

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Ivan Ortiz has packed in his head of technology role at Australian bookmaking company, UBET, to take on a similar role in the financial services sector at Brisbane-based LGIAsuper.

AGL Energy’s Alan Sharvin, formerly the head of technology, digital channels, has been appointed to take on the Melbourne-based role.

Ortiz worked as UBET’s head of technology for over three years, where he was the tech group’s central conduit servicing the Wagering Business unit within the group.

In 2015, Tatts Group, Australia's largest provider of wagering, lotteries and gaming products and services, announced its wagering division would be repositioned under a new singular masterbrand – UBET

While at UBET, Ortiz was responsible for technology strategy, planning, delivery and people management of his department within the Technology Service Unit.

Late last year, Ortiz was named in the CIO50 list. He was recognized for his integral role in the creation of the new Tatts Group wagering brand, UBET.

The project involved transforming all aspects of the organisation’s core wagering systems, as well as customer-facing products services covering digital and retail assets.

“We worked on building a flat leadership structure with four key strengths: product, engineering, portfolio and delivery,” he told CIO Australia at the time.

“As a result, we have invested heavily in building leadership skills to all team leaders and entrusting them to become personal ambassadors in decision making and through communication to their teams or business partners.”

As head of technology, Ortiz’s first job was to lead the wagering technology team through a transformation process, setting the thinking, as well as putting the processes and technology capabilities in place to support UBET.

One of the key programs he delivered while at UBET was the retail renewal, which included the roll out of 2,800 Orion terminals across four states in 1,300+ venues - with a significantly enhanced operator and customer experience, and robust in-venue IT infrastructure. He also rolled out 1,500 next generation cash self-service terminals that offered a significantly enhanced customer experience.

Other key highlights of the achievements of Ortiz and his team include: the delivery of Tatts.com digital customer transition to UBET; and the delivery of the totaliser platform modernisation program. This program performed ‘open heart surgery’ on one of the key engines for the company. This placed UBET in a much better position to maintain and build upon its tote betting capabilities.

“Ivan was a valued member of UBET’s senior leadership team and he built an incredibly strong wagering technology team. A team who have earned their reputation for delivery and quality, and a team who will play a crucial role in the future of our combined wagering business. He’s an inspirational leader and technologist - with a huge heart,” according to Tabcorp CIO Mandy Ross.

Prior to his head of tech role at UBET, Ortiz was a product manager of next generation sports platform (web, mobile and retail) for Tatts Group.

As part of that role, he was responsible for delivering innovation projects through R&D and rapid prototyping, trialling products in production prior to large investment commitments. He was also pivotal in leading the way in agile software delivery practices within Tatts Group.

Throughout his career, he has had extensive experience as a product manager, project manager and business analyst.

His former roles have included stints at Wotif Group where he was the general manager of projects (web and mobile applications); as well as the product director (IT applications) marketing and distribution channels.

In his new role at LGIAsuper, Ortiz said he will help the company undergo a business transformation.

“I will help transform the way the company works in terms of technology, position the tech team as a trusted partner to the business, review and modernise ways of working, determine best practices, architectural blueprint and roadmap, and enhance the culture," Ortiz told CIO.

He said he made the career change for two reasons: to get more of a work life balance (to do a lot less travel), and to jump into new challenges by way of a new sector.

“The fact the role is Brisbane-based gives me more of a work-life balance. And there’s an exciting challenge in taking on a role in a new industry. I come from a background of online travel, online accommodation, online flights and then went into gambling and wagering, sports and racing. And now I think it’s good for my career to expand my portfolio into financial services.”