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Just weeks after Kindred Group announced a strategic review, the operator has seen two key departures within the space of a few days.
The second – and headline exit – has been confirmed as that of CEO Henrik Tjärnstrom, who leaves after almost 13 years in the role.
This follows the announcement earlier this week that Johan Wilsby will leave his position as CFO.
So it’s all change for Kindred, who will replace Tjärnstrom with Nils Andén on an interim basis.
Kindred’s share price dropped slightly after the news (to SEK 126.45 – $12.09) but the company’s stock has risen in the last month, while its Q1 report showed sharp rises in both revenue and profit before tax.
There are, therefore, very few clues to be found there as to why Kindred is now losing both its CEO and CFO.
But possible reasons, which may well also link to the organisation’s strategic review, are a lack of headway in the ever-growing US market, as well as a lack of progress in reducing revenue from harmful gambling.
When Tjärnstrom joined us for our CEO Special back in 2020, he spoke of “eradicating problem gambling,” while Kindred has been very public about its goal of earning zero revenue from harmful gambling.
In the years since, however, that p has not dropped below 3%. Did the operator set its target too high?
But, whatever the underlying reasons, one of the industry’s longer CEO tenures has now come to a conclusion.
Evert Carlsson, Kindred Chairman, believes Tjärnstrom has “undoubtedly put his mark on both the history of the company and the industry.”
Tjärnström himself commented: “I am very pleased with the Board of Directors’ choice of Nils Andén as the Interim CEO, guaranteeing a smooth handover.”
Meanwhile, his successor Andén said: “I very much look forward to working closely with our Board of Directors, the executive management team and all employees to achieve the goals of Kindred.
“I re-joined Kindred in 2020 as its Chief Commercial Officer, after having had positions within Kindred between 2006 and 2016 as Head of Poker, Head of Established Markets and CMO for the Unibet brand.
“I have a strong belief in our organisation and the business models that have made this company so successful, and am more confident than ever in Kindred’s potential.”
