Introducing Tim De Borle: thrill-seeker, soon-to-be dad, and our dynamic new COO

Our brand new Chief Operating Officer and soon-to-be-dad, Tim De Borle , is currently juggling life between Belgium and Malta. With his love for car racing and a knack for handling high-pressure situations while minimizing errors, he is undoubtedly a valuable addition to the company. We had a lovely time yapping away about leadership skills, company culture, and his personal pet peeve, office politics.?

Could you please explain what the role of a Chief Operating Officer entails?

“The responsibilities tend to differ per organization. Here at Casumo, I’ve taken on the role of steering five different departments including Tech, Product, Customer Experience, Commercial & Data Intelligence. Together we’re responsible for building and maintaining the optimal value proposition throughout the customer journey, and co-tailor it to the markets we operate in. It’s my job to guide and co-define the strategy and to help everyone stay focused, align with other departments, adapt to change, and achieve the goals we’ve set.”

That’s quite the list! What are the most important qualities of a successful COO in your opinion?

“A successful COO has strategic acumen, is capable of seeing the bigger picture, of connecting the dots or revising them where needed in the entire ecosystem of the business. A COO will always strive for efficiency, has good decision-making skills, is comfortable leading, coaching and setting the example for the teams and the organisation at large.”

How would you describe your leadership style?

“I am passionate about supporting others to grow through three key strategies: coaching, inspiring, and connecting. I coach by sharing experiences to promote critical thinking. I inspire by continually communicating our team's direction and motivations and I connect by building and maintaining a good network for the teams and myself. If needed I’ll step in to help resolve conflicts, but I rather empower the team to find solutions themselves.”

Can you think of any challenges ahead, for your role specifically or for the company as a whole, and how to overcome them?

“We need to redefine what Casumo is, in various aspects. First and foremost, to our customers. I’m confident we’re capable, but only through focus and teamwork. We need everyone to excel in their domain to be able to be successful. And it will require quite a lot of change, which people will need to be willing to embrace - fighting against the stream tends to get rather painful and frustrating.”

What do you feel is the biggest strength of Casumo right now?

“We have a great heritage to build on when it comes to brand, product and technology, but as I mentioned a little earlier, it’s currently in need of some change, some fresh air. I would say that the openness towards this change from everyone within the organisation is our key strength.”

How important is the company culture to you v.s. the product?

“I’d say both are crucial to the success of a company. A best-in-class product might be the main ingredient of the recipe for success, but we won’t be able to produce this without an excelling team. To be able to build a team like that, we need a clearly defined company culture. See? We’ve come full circle!”

Right. It’s like the chicken or the egg, haha. So then, what makes a company successful in your opinion?

“We’re successful if we can build an experience for our customers that delivers exciting entertainment in a safe environment. If we can manage to do that whilst helping our people grow to higher levels and becoming better people, both professionally and personally, and keep our shareholders happy by increasing profit then BAM!, Bob’s your uncle.”?

Can you share some of your biggest previous accomplishments?

“I’m quite proud of my iGaming career so far - but I hope to achieve a lot more. From the top of my head, there are two standout accomplishments: Witnessing many people who were part of my team earn Director or C-level titles. I’m proud to have been a supporting factor along the way. Second, building the first dedicated live studio with Evolution Gaming outside of their own premises and gaining a market-leading position in Live casino by doing it.”

What has been the biggest deal breaker for you in a job?

“Office politics, they’re an absolute no-go for me. All it does is brew up frustration and waste a lot of energy. With all the complex work we tackle at Casumo, we have to keep them to a bare minimum, ideally zero. Gladly that’s a shared sentiment, we're all about keeping this place a politics-free zone and focus on what really matters.”

Sounds like the right approach! I would now like to fire a round of quick questions your way to finalise the interview! How would you describe Casumo’s current company culture in three words?

“Playful, vibrant, ambitious.”?

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Which book are you currently reading?

“It’s a Dutch book, written for dads-to-be from the viewpoint of other dads-to-be. Hilarious and also very helpful.”

Ohh so big congratulations are in order?!

“Yes, thank you. Our baby boy is due in October, very exciting!”

Now that you still have time to watch TV, what’s your all-time favourite movie?

“The Dark Knight. The directing by Christopher Nolan and the Joker performance by Heath Ledger are simply fantastic.”

What was your very first job and how old were you?

“I worked at a slaughterhouse when I was 16 years old. It was very dirty, very hard work, but it earned me the first money I got to spend as I pleased.”

If Casumo were to host a fancy dress party, which costume would you pick and why?

“I’ll go with Super Mario, but honestly anything that doesn’t require face paint will do. I have my reasons of course, but I’d best keep that story to myself for now, haha!”

Then I won’t insist. Tim, thanks so much for your time - it’s been a pleasure getting to know you and it’s great having you on board!