Richard Brown is stepping down from his role as chief executive of Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) ahead of schedule, with new chief Richard Carter waiting in the wings.
Brown exits the position with immediate effect from today (18 September). He moves to a board advisory role at GiG until 31 December.
The departure was announced in May, with GiG saying Brown would leave the CEO role by the end of 2023. He is moving to Glitnor Group as CEO in January 2024.
Brown became CEO in November 2019 after spells as chief operating officer and chief digital officer. He also spent time as managing director of GiG Media.
Prior to joining GiG in February 2016, Brown worked at the Highlight Media Group, Web Guide Partner and THG Sports.
GiG edging closer to planned split
Brown’s departure was announced shortly after GiG launched a strategic review with the idea of splitting its business. This would involve the GiG Media affiliate arm and Platform and Sportsbook divisions, becoming separate entities.
Former SBTech CEO Richard Carter was last month appointed to lead the Platform and Sportsbook division. Jonas Warrer, currently CMO, will continue to head up the GiG Media arm. Chairman Petter Nylander is now serving as executive chairman until the proposed split completes.
As part of his exit agreement, Brown will support the handover to Carter and support the GiG board until the end of the year. This, GiG says, will enable both new CEOs with a full mandate to take their respective business units forward.
GiG last month said it hopes to complete the proposed split by the first half of 2024.
“A good time” to step down
“GiG is in a tremendous position strategically and operationally,” Brown said. “With Jonas and Richard now in place to drive the business units towards further success, it is a good time for me to move to a supportive but non-operational role until the end of the year.”
Nylander adds: “We are very pleased with the progression of splitting GiG into two distinct entities to enhance future expansion and drive shareholder value. We now have two strong CEOs with full operational responsibility for each business unit.
“Richard has been instrumental in making this possible. The board wants to thank Richard for his valuable contribution to GiG over the years. We are pleased that Richard will be available until year-end to secure the succession.”
Revenue reaches record heights at GiG in Q2
Brown’s departure comes on the back of a successful Q2 for GiG, during which revenue hit a record high of €34.9m (£30.0m/$37.2m).
Revenue in the six months to 30 June was higher across both the GiG Media and Platform and Sportsbook segments. GiG Media performed well in particular, driven by all-time high publishing revenue.
Some €21.7m of revenue came from the GiG Media segment, an increase of 46.6% and a new record. As for Platform and Sportsbook, revenue was 27.4% higher in Q2 at €9.3m.
Bottom line net profit for the quarter reached €7.1m, a 317.7% increase on last year. In addition, adjusted EBITDA jumped 68.7% to €14.0m.
In terms of GiG’s performance in the first half, revenue in the six months to 30 June was up 36.7% to €64.8m. Net profit hit €11.5m, some 283.3% ahead of H1 of 2023, while adjusted EBITDA also jumped 71.3% to €25.7m.
