The CEO and co-founder of listed Guild Esports is to step away from the business.
The eSports team part-owned by England football legend David Beckham said Kal Hourd, who co-founded the company in July 2019, had made the “personal decision” to leave the company at the end of the year.
It has promoted Jasmine Skee, currently chief marketing officer, to the CEO role.
Hourd’s background prior to Guild was in Canadian business while Skee has more than 20 years of global experience across sport, entertainment, telecoms and media.
She previously served as director of propositions & products at telecoms firm Three UK, where she delivered partnerships with Chelsea FC, Activision and Snap. Her other experience includes marketing director at Live Nation Entertainment.
Skee joined the company in March and has played a leading role in the delivery of key partnerships including Sky UK and the launch of Guild College with SCL Education, Guild said.
In June, the London-headquartered firm revealed a £5 million loss before tax for the six months ending March 31st 2022 and said it had reduced headcount from 45 to 30.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Kal for his leadership, under which Guild has grown from a startup to a leading global eSports brand partnered with world-renowned brands including Samsung, Subway, Coca-Cola and Sky, with an engaged audience and headquartered in the state-of-the-art Sky Guild Gaming Centre,” said non-executive chairman Derek Lew.
“With the first phase of Guild’s growth complete, he has taken the decision to step down.”
Hourd commented: “The signing of several major deals this year, including one of the largest in European eSports history, marks a significant personal milestone for me.
“Having established a strong revenue base and a tighter cost structure, the goal set out when I became CEO to build a top global esports organisation has now been accomplished.
“It is therefore time to pass on the baton. I am thrilled by Jasmine’s appointment and will be cheering her on from the sidelines.”
Jocelin Caldwell has also been appointed a non-executive director with immediate effect, replacing Mike Edwards, who is stepping down due to time commitments at his other business interests.
Caldwell is a co-founder of Guild Esports and was previously its COO.