Having held various positions at CDI for over a decade, the Louisville-based company has tapped Simon to oversee its tech strategy and services, replacing Ben Murr who was recently promoted to President of TwinSpires and Online Gaming.
Simon joined Churchill Downs in 2011 as VP of Operations for the company’s United Tote division, before being promoted to President a year later.
In this role, Simon was responsible for over 200 employees across the US and Canada, as well as more than $25m in global revenue.
Prior to joining CDI, he worked for Swiss chemicals company Clariant as its Global Head of IT Operations, but Simon began his career with American energy giant General Electric (GE).
He completed the GE Information Management Leadership Program and worked as an Enterprise Resource Planning Project Leader. Simon also holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Indiana University.
His promotion is effective immediately and CDI said it will “move quickly to fill the role of President of United Tote.”
Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs CEO, said: “I am very proud of the results Nate has delivered in modernising United Tote over the past 10 years.
“We look forward to him building on these contributions by delivering further innovation and growth to the company as the Chief Technology Officer.”
Replacing him is Maureen Adams, while Ryan Jordan will become Churchill Downs’ new Senior VP of Real Estate Development.
