Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) announced significant changes to its leadership team almost two months to the day after announcing the termination of the ESPN Bet partnership.

Executive vice presidents Todd George and Rich Primus, the latter of whom also held the post of chief information officer (CIO), are departing the company and their roles will be abolished, according to the Pennsylvania-based regional casino operator.

"PENN’s current Senior Vice Presidents of Regional Operations — Rafael Verde, Aaron Rosenthal and Justin Carter — will continue their regional oversight of PENN’s retail operations, with Mr. Verde and Mr. Rosenthal reporting to (CEO) Mr. (Jay) Snowden and Mr. Carter reporting to Mr. Verde,” said the gaming company in a statement.

Jennifer Weissman, Penn's Chief Market Officer, will report to Snowden and collaborate closely with Aaron LaBerge, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Interactive.

Penn Modifications Make LaBerge's Role Clear

Although some investors may have originally viewed the changes at Penn with skepticism, several experts think they are optimistic since they clarify LaBerge's position inside the company.After working for Walt Disney for two decades, including ESPN, he joined Penn almost two years ago.

Jeffrey Stantial, a Stifel analyst, notes in a note to clients after Penn's announcement that the changes are "likely appropriate" and will enable the gaming company to refine its digital gaming efforts, which could prove crucial as it attempts to strengthen theScore while supporting its rapidly growing iGaming platform.

“While Aaron & Todd are effective leaders and PENN recently added Interactive-related BoD governance, we have argued for some time that PENN would benefit from leadership with prior experience building & scaling profitable OSB/iCasino brands,” observes the analyst. “Hence, we are encouraged to see management opt to add the role despite strategic focus on rationalizing fixed costs.”

With a $21 price objective, he recommends the stock as a "buy," suggesting a 38.7% increase from today's closing price.

Penn Stresses the Importance of Technology Centralization

Another thing to take away from Penn's announcement is that technology is becoming a bigger part of Ameristar's strategy. The business stated that LaBerge will be in charge of all enterprise IT operations and that it is seeking a digital chief operating officer (COO).

Penn stated that it is looking into more opportunities to "streamline" operations, increase free cash flow, and achieve cost savings, but it did not specify how these initiatives will be carried out.

“While we await a more fulsome update at Q4, we believe leadership changes can be read favorably to execution on the broader Interactive fixed cost reduction opportunity discussed on the Q3 call and subsequent competitor sell-side conferences,” concludes Stantial.