Change of Scene…Nigel Eccles steps down as FanDuel leader

Issuing a corporate statement, New York and Edinburgh based daily fantasy sports operator FanDuel has confirmed that Co-Founder & Chief Executive Nigel Eccles will leave the company.  

US tech news sources report that Eccles departs the DFS sector, to focus on a new venture within the burgeoning competitive eSports market.

FanDuel governance informs that Eccles will be replaced by current CFO Matt King, who has been a part of FanDuel’s executive leadership team since 2014.

In 2007, Scotsman Eccles founded FanDuel alongside partner Lezley Eccles (Marketing Director) and Tom Griffiths (VP of Product). The company sought to professionalise popular US fantasy sports leagues, developing a new competitive edge for US sports fans.

To date, Eccles has guided FanDuel through seven venture funding rounds, with the DFS operator raising circa $400 million in enterprise capital.  

Considered one of the ‘big 2’ in the US fantasy sports market, FanDuel has fought an expensive and brutal war against main rival DraftKings for DFS dominance.

During H1 2017, FanDuel and DraftKings investors pursued a merger combination between the two firms, with Eccles set to become the Chairman of the ‘Outright DFS market leading company’.

However, in June 2017, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) blocked the FanDuel-DraftKings combination, as the enlarged enterprise would control a reported 90% of the DFS sector, creating a monopoly position for all industry stakeholders.  Issuing a statement, Eccles wished FanDuel and Matt King good luck,

“With his strategic vision, range of experiences, and broad skillset, I cannot imagine a better individual to steer FanDuel forward,”

“With tremendous legislative strides in the past two years and the business moving into profitability in Q4, FanDuel is in a great position. I know Matt is the leader to capitalize on the momentum in the sports technology space to take FanDuel to the next level.”