Board & Management

• Extensive digital publishing industry leadership experience
• Considerable knowledge of capital markets and global media industry

Marcus is an experienced Chair and Chief Executive with deep knowledge of the global media, publishing and marketing sectors gained from over 30 years of senior leadership experience. Most recently, he was CEO at TI Media from March 2014 to May 2020 prior to the sale to Future plc. Previously, he was at Associated Newspapers for five years in the roles of Commercial Director and Managing Director Mail On Sunday. Preceding this, Marcus worked at EMAP for 16 years, during which time he held the role of Group Managing Director of EMAP Lifestyle Magazines and EMAP Advertising and also ran the company’s Australian and US businesses. Marcus was also formerly a Group Account Director at McCann Erickson and ran Optimus Communication.

• Broad media and digital publishing industry experience
• Strong leadership and financial expertise

David is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with extensive leadership and financial expertise. He joins the Group having held a number of senior Executive roles in companies across the media sector, most recently as CEO at JPIMedia Group. During his tenure there, David led the business through a period of considerable change including a ‘digital acceleration programme’ to drive the publisher’s commercial strategy. Prior to this, he served as CEO of Timeout Group and CFO of BBC Worldwide (now BBC Studios). In his early career, David spent time as a Management Consultant at PwC working with a number of blue-chip clients. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

• Strong finance leadership background
• Substantial knowledge of the gaming and leisure sectors

Caroline is an experienced CFO and Board Director with a track record of successful value creation. Most recently, Caroline held the role of Chief Financial Officer and sat on the board at Jaywing plc, an AIM-listed integrated marketing agency and consulting business. Caroline was responsible for the management of finance, HR, facilities and technology, and also assumed the responsibilities of Company Secretary. Prior to this, Caroline held the role of Chief Financial Officer from 2018 to 2020 at Push Doctor, a provider of online GP services; Director of Commercial Finance from 2014 to 2018 with Sky Betting and Gaming; Finance Director from 2012-2014 for Coral Interactive (a subsidiary of Gala Coral Group); and several finance leadership roles with BSkyB from 2004 to 2012.

• Extensive knowledge of XLMedia having founded the business
• Significant understanding of performance marketing

Ory co-founded XLMedia and served as CEO from 2008 to 2019, prior to which he worked across all areas of the business as it successfully scaled from the affiliate network he first established in 2003. He brings considerable entrepreneurial and digital business leadership experience. Ory is also the founder of Team Odeon, a performance marketing company focused on higher education. He is an active investor and advisor to companies operating in SAAS, Gaming and performance marketing.

• Significant experience in both public and private markets
• Considerable knowledge of the online gambling industry

Cédric has worked with SAS Premier Investissement for over nine years, initially in the company’s listed real estate development subsidiary Bassac where he worked for five years. In 2017, he co-founded Lagune Holding, an investment advisor and worked closely with Premier Investissement to develop its asset management arm and help it invest in listed companies. Cédric is the appointed representative of Premier Investissement, XLMedia’s largest shareholder.

• Significant experience in people strategy across international organisations
• Considerable knowledge of large-scale consumer businesses

Julie brings a wealth of experience across all facets of Human Resources strategy and development on an international scale, gained from over 30 years of senior leadership experience. Most recently, Julie was Group People Director at Ocado plc, where she was responsible for implementing their global people strategy and served on the management committee. Previously, she has held senior leadership roles at Tesco plc and Diageo.

• Significant and relevant financial accounting experience
• Considerable knowledge of the online gaming sector

Richard is a qualified chartered accountant and partner at SRLV, an independent accounting practice that he co-founded in 1988. He has a strong finance background and specific knowledge of the online marketing sector. XLMedia is the second AIM-listed company he has successfully taken to market, having previously advised Empire Online when it became the first digital marketing business for the gaming industry to be publicly traded in 2005. Richard has been a member of the Academy of Experts since 2011.

• Considerable capital markets and gaming sector experience
• Extensive experience in technology and product development

Jonas is currently CEO of Mojang AB, the video game development company behind the Minecraft game, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2014. Jonas founded betting operator Mobilbet.com, which was sold to ComeOn in 2016. Prior to this, Jonas held senior roles at Betsson, an online betting and gaming company, latterly in Betsson Technologies AB, as Head of Mobile responsible for strategy and execution of all mobile activities across the 28 group brands. He has also managed start-ups in entertainment, social networking and finance. Jonas was one of the founders of Happy Socks.