NuxGame has appointed Mariia Baranova as its Chief Operating Officer, taking over operations after a successful tenure in account management. Under her leadership, the client service department achieved an impressive average satisfaction score of 4.8 out of 5 from operators over the past six months.
Baranova’s promotion comes during a significant shift for NuxGame, which has evolved from an iGaming software provider to operating a comprehensive ecosystem for operator growth. This ecosystem includes a casino and sportsbook platform, game aggregation options, sweepstakes-ready infrastructure, and a curated partner network. Managing this multi-faceted system effectively, especially at scale, poses a considerable operational challenge that Baranova is well-prepared to tackle.
As COO, she will focus on standardizing processes across teams, making decisions driven by data, and implementing AI where it can efficiently reduce manual labor. NuxGame's immediate goals under her leadership include enhancing client reporting and ensuring that service level agreements (SLAs) are both transparent and easily trackable.
Daniel Heywood, CEO of NuxGame, praised Baranova’s operational acumen, stating, “Our next stage is about turning progress into a scalable, data-driven, and predictable organization, one that grows faster without losing quality, transparency, or control. That is operational work, and Mariia is among the best operational minds I know. She sees the whole system where others see a list of tasks.”
Baranova also emphasized her belief in problem-solving, stating, “Everything can be solved: that’s the belief I bring into this role. My job is to make NuxGame faster and more precise – numbers in front of every decision, answers that take a minute instead of a request to an analyst and three days of waiting, and people’s thinking (the one resource I will never automate) always getting the final word.”
Recognized for her talent in mentoring, Baranova was shortlisted for the Outstanding Mentor Award at the WiG Diversity Awards 2026 earlier this year.
