Gambling.com Group names co-founder Kevin McCrystle as CEO
Chairman, CEO and co-founder Charles Gillespie will become executive chairman of the board.
US.- Gambling.com Group has announced that current chief operating officer and co-founder Kevin McCrystle will become CEO. Current chairman, CEO and co-founder Charles Gillespie will become executive chairman of the board. The change will be effective from the conclusion of the company’s annual general meeting, which is expected to take place in mid-May.
McCrystle has served as chief operating officer since 2007 and as a director since May 2024. Since July 2016, he has served as a director of the subsidiary GDC Media in Ireland. In 2020, he relocated to Charlotte, in the US, to oversee development of the North American market. Gillespie has been chairman of the board since May 2024.
Michael Quartieri, lead independent director, said: “As executive chairman, Charles’ insights and guidance will continue to benefit the company, including through his active role in evaluating strategic M&A opportunities and ensuring the company remains at the forefront of the AI revolution. On behalf of our board of directors, we sincerely thank Charles for his 20 years of outstanding service to the company as our first and only CEO and look forward to his continued contributions in his role as executive chairman.
“Since the company’s inception, Kevin and Charles have worked in lockstep on the execution of all of its key initiatives. Kevin is an incredible leader, and with his vast knowledge of our business and the industry, he is highly respected by all of our internal and external stakeholders. The board is highly confident he is ideally suited to become our next CEO to continue to lead and execute on the initiatives already in place to keep the company moving forward as it becomes a bigger player in the online gambling ecosystem.”
McCrystle added: “Over the years, we have had many different phases of growth, from the early startup days right out of college, to developing our early international headquarters in Ireland, to PASPA pivoting our focus to our home country in the US, to becoming a publicly traded company. As we continue to implement our strategic initiatives, I am energised to take over the CEO role and lead the entire company with our founder-led company values to best position Gambling.com Group for long-term growth.”
Gillespie commented: “I have spent my entire adult life building Gambling.com Group with Kevin and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him as we move into the next phase of the company’s growth. As we continue to grow our sports data services business, reinvent our marketing business, and embrace an AI-led future, now is the right time to refresh our leadership team and give our most talented leader the full reins to drive all parts of the business.”
