The company has created a new advisory team, dubbed the “Supervisory Board.” This will include Katerina Belorusskaya, a major stakeholder, and Marek Šmrha, non-executive consultant of the board.
Maksym Liashko and Roman Syrotian, in addition to joining the Supervisory Board, will become co-CEOs.
The division of labour will see Liashko cover finance, legal, communication and admin, with Syrotian focusing on IT, product and marketing.
An additional non-executive role on the board remains vacant, with the operator hopeful of filling it with the right candidate.
New co-CEO Liashko said: “For Roman and me, a dual CEO structure is a logical move and consolidation of the company’s growth directions. We know our areas well, and we will do everything to implement the company’s plans to enter the next level of development.”
His fellow co-CEO Syrotian said: “Maksym and I are granted the responsibility of leading the company as co-CEO. It’s an honour for me. Being already in excellent shape today, Parimatch has ambitions of achieving top positions on the markets all over the world.
“I hope to contribute to this goal by ensuring we provide our customers with the highest quality entertainment and services.”
Meanwhile, Portnov added: “Updates in the company’s structure and creating a board is an indicator of the company’s maturity and readiness.
“Now is the best time for such changes. I am sure this will strengthen the brand’s strategy and will allow the large ship that is Parimatch to move along the route rapidly.”
The co-CEO approach is a rare one. There are similar examples to be found in the industry currently, with Jesper Svensson CEO of Betsson Group and Pontus Lindwall the CEO of Betsson AB (the operator’s financial arm).
Relax Gaming also saw CEO Daniel Eskola move to the CCO role as Tommi Maijala succeeded him as CEO, although in both cases CEOs and not co-CEOs are involved.
Key points to follow in Parimatch’s journey are exactly what this shake-up means and is driven by, for example if this is due to certain regulatory or geographical focuses.
It will also be intriguing to see how much influence Portnov maintains on the day-to-day operations as chairman.
