Meet Keith Erickson – Head of People & Culture
Welcome to the fourth edition of our monthly series on employee insights. In this edition we sit down with Keith Erickson who heads People & Culture as well as accounts at Lion Gaming.
Keith Erickson is an executive with 18 years of leadership experience and has acted as CEO and Director for private and publicly listed companies. His experience in traditional industries as well as several blockchain focused companies combined with his focus on entrepreneurship and emerging markets makes him an excellent talent to have on our team.
Keep reading to learn more about Keith and the culture he’s championing at Lion Gaming.
How did you first get started at Lion Gaming?
I first started talking with our founder Tim Walters when I had a public shell listed on the TSXV exchange. Tim was interested in taking the company public at some point in the future and together we started talking about the future of Lion Gaming. I was intrigued about the space and Lion Gaming’s future so I asked Tim how I could help. Tim and I started working together shortly thereafter and for the next 1.5 years I was Lion Gaming’s CEO.
What first got you interested in the iGaming space?
Ever since I was young, I have always been fantastically and magnetically attracted to gaming platforms. In my day, it was things like dial up modems and platforms like Intellivison / Atari and games like Space Armada, Dig Dug and Donkey Kong. Obviously this dates me, but I have always found technology mesmerizing and entertaining. In University, I received a Bachelors of Commerce with a major in Management Information Systems (MIS). Even in the 90’s it was clear to me that using information from technology was a great way to be relevant in business. iGaming is next level.
How would you describe the culture at Lion Gaming?
As the head of People and Culture I would hope that culture is aspirational. And I believe that it is. The leaders of Lion Gaming (including myself) believe that our culture is our everything. It defines how we lead, think, solve problems and treat one another. We aspire to be a company of pioneers in the digital age creating assets that are valuable, entertaining and significant to the iGaming industry. The three core tenets of our culture are: Honour, Transparency and Commitment.
How does Lion Gaming help its employees grow professionally?
Our CEO, Duncan McIntyre has said that he wants employees to be extremely excited and passionate about what they do. No matter what. At Lion Gaming, our leaders are committed to supporting employees to grow to the highest of heights as we solve bleeding edge problems in the iGaming industry together.
What do you like most about working at Lion Gaming?
Our people, for sure. Lion Gaming staff are our portal in the future. It always amazes me to watch how our people can see so far into the future and recognize patterns and new ways of tackling the future of entertainment in the iGaming space.
What has been the most challenging part about building a company from the ground-up?
The most challenging part of building from the ground up is finding tools to support and nurture our culture. Tools have to be able to keep up to the pace of our collaboration and communication needs. It has taken a lot of work to find the right tools and integrate them into our team. But now that we have them integrated, it has helped Lion Gaming to be able to move at the collaboration speed required to achieve our vision.
What is the most exciting thing about working at Lion Gaming?
The most exciting thing about working at Lion Gaming is THE FUTURE! Lion Gaming is bleeding edge and it is amazing to create and build entertainment for the future. And no one knows where we will end up. Our adventure is extremely exciting!
