Kal Hourd, the CEO of British esports organisation Guild Esports, has stepped down from his role and will leave the company, Guild has announced.
Hourd will be succeeded by Jasmine Skee, the former Chief Marketing Officer for the company, when the Board changes take place on January 1st 2023.
Additionally, Jocelin Caldwell has been appointed as non-executive director for Guild. This change will be effective immediately.
Jasmine Skee, the new CEO of Guild Esports, joined the company in March 2022 to lead the Marketing section of Guild. Skee has worked closely with Guild’s Board of Directors and was a key figure in the partnerships with Sky UK and the SCL Foundation. Guild and the SCL Foundation created an esports college course earlier this month.
Prior to joining Guild Esports, Skee worked for Three, a telecommunications company. She also held the position of Marketing Director at Live Nation Entertainment, and was also the Head of Music Sponsorship at O2 UK.
Meanwhile, Kal Hourd is a Co-Founder of Guild alongside CEO, having started his tenure at the company in 2019, the year Guild was founded. Under his guidance, Guild became publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange, one of the first esports organisations in the world to do so.
But his time at CEO will also be characterised by Guild’s underwhelming financial results, and the renegotiation of its relationship with former footballer David Beckham.
Jocelin Caldwell is to replace Mike Edwards, who will no longer work with Guild. Caldwell is a Co-founder of Guild Esports, and has also worked as VP of Operations at WCG Services.
Former Guild Esports CEO Kal Hourd commented: “The signing of several major deals this year, including one of the largest in European esports history, marks a significant personal milestone for me.
“Having established a strong revenue base and a tighter cost structure, the goal set out when I became CEO to build a top global esports organisation has now been accomplished. It is therefore time to pass on the baton. I am thrilled by Jasmine’s appointment and will be cheering her on from the sidelines.”
