Back to basics: Why Parimatch Tech reverted to a sole CEO
Parimatch Tech deputy CEO Anna Motruk explains the rationale behind the recent C-level restructuring at the company
In April, Parimatch Tech shook up its senior management team as co-CEO Maksym Liashko became the sole CEO of the company.
Liashko previously served as co-CEO alongside Roman Syrotian since April 2021. In April 2022, Syrotian decided to leave the co-CEO role to focus on supervisory board activities.
As part of the restructure, Liashko is now supported by two deputy CEOs: Evgen Belousov and Anna Motruk.
In an article for EGR, Motruk reveals the thinking behind the strategy, how the trio work together and what the future holds for Parimatch Tech. Motruk says:
For Parimatch Tech, structural changes are historically always associated with a new stage of development, and the transition to a new sole CEO and dual deputy CEO structure was no exception.
The previous co-CEO model showed an impressive result of 155% growth in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for one year. The operational processes were split between two CEOs: current CEO Maksym Liashko was responsible for finance, legal, communication, and administrative operating activities, while Roman Syrotian was focused on IT product and marketing operating activities.
Such an approach helped to consolidate Parimatch Tech as an ambitious player in a worldwide gambling market driven by technologies and in-depth industry expertise.
The first prerequisite for the transition to the sole CEO model was that Roman Syrotian was always more fascinated with business strategy. At the same time, Maxim Liashko was interested in balancing strategy and its operational implementation.
Things changed a lot on 24 February. The war started by Russia against the Ukrainian people forced us to review the structure and development procedures within the company and adapt to the new reality. We needed to add speed to the decision-making process and become more flexible.
The classic triangle model with one CEO and two deputy CEOs was chosen to ensure stability in decision-making. Also, the two deputy CEOs’ approach provided an opportunity to save some positives from the co-CEO model, such as combining different business perspectives for crucial agreements.
Eugen Belousov and I are responsible for different parts of the business, but we can always hedge each other and complement as experts from different areas. Furthermore, the triangle model opens the potential to process more information and overview other fresh business perspectives.
Additional points of view and competencies in various business areas help us to find a synergy of ideas for further business development. But the last word always belongs to the CEO.
The new structure strengthened the company and gave impetus to adopting those decisions that had been projected for a long time. We have launched the process of business diversification, and now we are transforming the company, entering into new partnerships and actively engaging in the global expansion of the Parimatch brand.
The offering of the Parimatch platform and brand now serves as a springboard for Parimatch Tech partners looking to position themselves in their local markets and fast-track their growth rather than start from scratch.
Now we feel even more responsible for our decisions because our employees depend on it more than ever — especially those who stayed in Ukraine. The war took the possibility of overthinking and weighing ideas away from us for a long time. As a result, many of our colleagues have become more open to fresh ideas and ready for changes.
For example, we discuss an idea tonight, and tomorrow we are already meeting with partners and considering the first project steps. As a company with Ukrainian roots, we adopted the ability of the Ukrainian people not to give up, which has already become the hallmark of our native country to the rest of the world.
Anna Motruk is a deputy CEO at Parimatch Tech. She is responsible for the development and global expansion of the business. Anna’s vast finance expertise and eight years of experience in the gambling industry help her upgrade the company’s internal processes, open new offices and provide a stable background for further business development.