FanDuel CEO departs
Nigel Eccles to be replaced by former FanDuel CFO Matt King
FanDuel CEO and co-founder Nigel Eccles is leaving the company and stepping down from his position as chairman, the firm announced today.
The operator did not give a reason for Eccles’ departure other than “moving on to his next venture”.
Eccles will be replaced by Matt King, who previously worked at FanDuel as CFO from 2014-2016 before leaving for an executive role at insurance house Cottingham & Butler.
King will also join the board, effective immediately.
“With his strategic vision, range of experiences, and broad skillset, I cannot imagine a better individual to steer FanDuel forward,” said Eccles.
“With tremendous legislative strides in the past two years and the business moving into profitability in Q4, FanDuel is in a great position. I know Matt is the leader to capitalize on the momentum in the sports technology space to take FanDuel to the next level.”
Eccles said on Twitter he was moving into the esports industry which was still in growth mode unlike traditional sports.
Excited but a little bit sad to be leaving @fanduel today. It has been an amazing 8 years. Really excited to see how Matt King and the team drive the company in 2018 and beyond. For me I'm building something awesome in eSports. Watch this space.
— Nigel Eccles (@nigeleccles) November 20, 2017
King said it was an “incredible honour” to return to FanDuel.
“Over the past eight years, Nigel has built one of the most disruptive companies in the sports world. I look forward to working with our talented team to make FanDuel the place for fans to engage with sports they love in new and exciting ways.”
The FanDuel board said in a statement that Eccles had “completely redefined an existing industry”.
“His passion, intelligence, and focus have been the bedrock of FanDuel’s success. We would like to offer our sincere thanks as he leaves to pursue his next venture. We are excited to work with Matt again. He is an exceptional executive who knows the business intimately, and has a clear vision for its next phase of growth.”
Margaret Taylor, a journalist at Scottish newspaper The Herald suggested Eccles had been ousted by private equity investor KKR.
King worked at KKR for 11 years.
https://twitter.com/MagsTaylorHT/status/932651926424080384
As part of the board reshuffle, Carl Vogel, the former president of satellite broadcaster DISH, has been named chairman of the board.
According to FanDuel: “Vogel currently serves as a director at various public companies focused on media distribution, content creation, and advanced technologies that are relevant to FanDuel’s current and future business opportunities.”
David Nathanson will also join the board as an independent director, having previously held executive roles at Fox and TVG.