In his new role, Hawkes will oversee the external communications for the gambling giant's UK and Ireland brands, including Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet.
Hawkes joins Flutter from the communications firm BCW Global, where he served as Senior Director and Head of Strategic Media since October 2019. Previously, Hawkes has held senior press industry positions newspapers like The Daily Telegraph.
Speaking on LinkedIn, Hawkes said: “Delighted to say that next month I will be joining Flutter, the global sports betting and gaming business, as Director of Reputational and Public Affairs in the UK and Ireland.
“I remain eternally grateful to BCW for giving me my first 'break' after my 20 years in journalism. I've learned a lot and worked on some great accounts. It's also, of course, been great to meet people I used to deal with as a journalist on this side of the fence.”
Headquartered in Dublin, Flutter owns a range of worldwide brands, including FanDuel, PokerStars and Paddy Power.
In May 2022, Flutter disclosed that it would be ending its 20-year relationship with audit firm KPMG in favour of rival company Deloitte, in line with an EU rule that states that public-interest-entities must change audit firms after 10 years.
The rule is designed to ensure auditor independence and objectivity, with Flutter expected to make the change in the 2024 fiscal year.
