A new chairman at the head of Kindred
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20 Oct 2024 •
Reading time: 3 minutes Things are changing in Kindred’s boardrooms. Following the takeover by la Française des Jeux (FDJ), chairman Evert Carlsson and five other directors have resigned. This happened immediately after the €2.45 billion acquisition of Kindred was approved on October 4.
FDJ took immediate action on October 14 and put three of their own people in key positions within the company.
Farewell to Carlsson and his team at Kindred
Carlsson and his fellow directors James H. Gemmel, Cédric Boireau, Andrew McCue, Jonas Jansson and Kenneth Shea have all packed their bags. For Carlsson, who has only been at the helm of Kindred since 2021, this means the end of a short but intense adventure. In addition to his role at Kindred, he also has other things to do: he is also chairman of the Swedish bank Dalslands Sparbank and sits on the board of PEG Capital Partners.
But the story doesn’t end with these six. Heidi Skogster and Martin Randel, who worked as independent directors, announced their departure, but will remain in place until their term expires at Kindred’s general meeting in 2025. So they will stay on board for a while, which at least provides some stability.
FDJ sends experienced leaders to Kindred
FDJ has not been sitting still. The new top people who are now taking charge at Kindred are Pascal Chaffard, Edeline Minaire and Célia Vérot. With them, the new board of Kindred looks like this: Chaffard, Minaire, Vérot, Skogster and Randel.
And Pascal Chaffard? He will be the new chairman. The man has a wealth of experience, having been with FDJ since 1994 and has seen it all. From finance and strategy to product marketing – he’s done it all.
Edeline Minaire brings her expertise as CFO, something she’s done successfully at FDJ for the past five years. Incidentally, she started her career at Ernst & Young, where she focused on audits and financial reporting.
And then there’s Célia Vérot, who has been pulling the strings as Chief Regulation Officer at FDJ since May 2024. Before she entered the gambling industry, she worked for the French government and advised the Prime Minister. So you could say that these three newcomers know what they’re doing.
FDJ takeover receives massive support from Kindred shareholders
When FDJ knocked on the door with their bid, the reaction among Kindred shareholders was clear: 90% gave the green light. No wonder, because the deal was unanimously recommended by the board. The acquisition adds Kindred, including their popular Relax Gaming games studio, to FDJ’s growing empire.
This means that their online sports betting, poker and ZEturf offerings will now also be part of the combined group, which is focused entirely on online gambling and betting.
It’s clear that Kindred is experiencing a breath of fresh air, and with FDJ’s new leadership, we can expect more changes to come. Whatever the future holds, it will be exciting to see how the partnership develops and where Kindred goes under these new bosses.