While Mr Henderson had only been chief executive for just under two years, he has been with the company for more than 30, having started on the shop floor. The executive is stepping down with immediate effect.
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Henderson will be replaced on an interim basis by chief financial officer Philip Bowcock, who Davis said will be among those considered for the permanent CEO role.
The board made the decision to replace Henderson and has engaged an worldwide search firm to find his successor, chairman Gareth Davis said.
“Philip has a clear set of priorities for this transition period, principally the turnaround of the online business”, Davis said. “We will confirm a successor in the coming months”.
News of Henderson’s departure resulted in a spike in the William Hill share price to 284.9p at 8.30am. During his tenure, the gambling operator faced certain hardships so it could be said that his resignation does not come as much of a surprise to the industry.
William Hill also warned on profits in October. However, with the merger deal to be closed any time now, that title will go to the newly formed Ladbrokes Coral business.
In June 2016, shares in William Hill slumped to a three-year low, as investors increasingly fear the group is losing ground to rivals.
In May, the company reported a bad performance at the Cheltenham festival and said online betting sales were rising slower than expected. This compares with operating profit of GBP291.4 million to the year end of December 2015. However, following the latest warning, William Hill now expects profit of between £260 million and £280 million.
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Neither the company nor Henderson revealed the reasons behind the move.
