Exclusive: Kofert leaves Etruvian amid management shakeup
Five members of senior management team head for exit as co-founder Dominik Kofert sells off shares
Former PokerStrategy parent company etruvian Holdings is to part ways with almost its entire senior management team following the decision of co-founder Dominik Kofert to sell his remaining shares in the business to co-founder Enrique Guzman last week.
Etruvian, which employs around 25 staff in Gibraltar, sold PokerStrategy.com to Playtech in a 38.3m bolt-on acquisition deal earlier this month, leaving only the financial trading educational and health businesses which were reportedly running at a hefty loss.
Kofert sold his shares to real-estate entrepreneur and etruvian co-founder Guzman last week after the two held a blind auction for their combined shareholding. It is understood the pair held increasingly contrary visions for the business which led to the decision to part ways.
Guzman immediately set about cutting costs and changes to the management team were among his first moves. Sources close to the matter told eGR that the employees involved were offered to stay within in the business on the condition they took substantial pay cuts.
Chief strategy officer Lutz Enke is among five senior staff on the way out. General counsel Damon Barnard is to leave the company as the entire legal function closes down, while HR business partner Nicola Valarino, chief financial officer Joannah Barnard and chief revenue officer Matthew Primeaux will also all leave the company.
Kofert, who left his role as Pokerstrategy chief executive officer at the start of this year to head up etruvian, told eGR he plans to take a break from the poker industry to dedicate more time to his family.
“The past six years have been extremely hard work for me and poker has been even tougher in the past couple of years, so on a personal level I wanted to slow things down” Kofert said. “Enrique has big plans for etruvian, which I clearly believe has big opportunities otherwise I would not have co-founded it. I believe it is a very strong business with a bright future ahead.”