B2B sports betting platform Kambi Group has announced that it has found a replacement for the group’s outgoing CEO, with former Sportradar executive Werner Becher to assume the role in late July.
The group has been searching for a successor since the company’s co-founder Kristian Nylén announced in January that he was planning to retire as CEO, but would remain on the company’s board.
Nylén co-founded Kambi with Anders Ström, the chair of the board. Ström assumed the role of Chair in November after Lars Stugemo announced his departure from the role after nearly a decade in the position and 14 years with the company.
Werner Becher steps into the role, even as the company targets further expansion into Asia, noting a plan to ‘launch in a major regulated Asian market’ by 2027.
The appointment also comes as Kambi laments that ‘the pace of sports betting regulation has slowed compared to previous years,’ in its 1Q24 presentation.
While primarily operating in the US, LatAm and European markets, Kambi Group also has a presence in APAC and operates directly under the Kambi moniker in NagaWorld, in Cambodia.
In total it employs some 1,000 staff, with its headquarters in Malta, and offices in Australia, the Philippines, the UK, the US, Denmark, Romania and Sweden.
In previous statements about his shift from the role of CEO to board member, Kristian Nylén noted that he was looking forward to “focusing more intensively on the strategic aspects of our business”.
Looking at Becher’s now assignments, the group in a release note that upon joining the company the executive ‘will be tasked with building on the company’s success and its position of the industry’s leader sports betting partner’.
“I join Kambi at an exciting time in its evolution, as it continues to open up its service and widen its addressable market,” notes Becher.
In the group’s 1Q24 results, it noted that its revenue fell slightly year-on-year, to €43.2 million ($46.48 million) and profit was down 1 percent, to €3.2 million ($3.44 million). However, it’s EBITDA was up 10 percent yearly, to €14.1 million ($15.17 million).
