Tyro chief executive Robbie Cooke has resigned to take up the top job at scandal-plagued casino operator Star Entertainment Group.

Cooke was at Tyro for five years – a period that included the company’s ASX listing in 2019 and the signing of a major strategic alliance with Bendigo Bank.

But the biggest challenge during Cooke’s tenure may have been the system failure Tyro experienced in January last year, when it was offline for a week.

The company reported that 11 per cent of its merchant customers were partially affected and 19 per cent fully affected. 

It took a financial hit after waiving terminal rental fees, discounting merchant service fees and paying remediation, but the 2020/21 financial report showed that, in terms of merchant numbers and transaction values, the business bounced back pretty quickly.

Cooke has previous experience in the gaming industry. He was CEO of lotteries, wagering and gaming at Tatts Group from 2013 to 2018.

Cooke has given the board six months’ notice. Tyro chair David Thodey said in a statement that the board will start an executive search for a new CEO.