“My goal is to empower every member of my team”
As Digitain’s new Chief Sales Officer, Ani Mkrtchyan brings a wealth of strategic expertise from her previous role as Head of Strategy. In the interview with iGamingExpress, she discusses her approach to driving global sales and expansion, managing complex sales solutions for multi-jurisdictional operators, and her vision for Digitain in the competitive iGaming industry.
Having recently transitioned from Head of Strategy to Chief Sales Officer at Digitain, how do you plan to leverage your strategic insights to drive the company’s global sales and expansion?
As the former Head of Strategy, my main objective is to utilise the tools and techniques I have developed over the years to establish and implement effective strategies. One of my key strengths is the ability to analyse both data and experience, allowing me to create tailored data-driven strategies for each market we plan to enter or expand in.
This includes considering factors such as market specifics and competitive landscape to make decisions that align with the company’s vision and objectives. Additionally, my previous role has not only improved my business development skills but also shaped my unique leadership style, which will be instrumental in driving our company’s global sales and expansion efforts successfully.
In your role at Digitain, you are tasked with engineering complex sales solutions for multi-jurisdictional operators. What is your approach to meeting the diverse needs and regulatory requirements of these markets?
Digitain has over 3,000 employees with expertise in the entire iGaming supply chain. In terms of this, sales work closely with our product, regulatory, and technical compliance teams to ensure the exacting standards for certification and licensing are met.
We conduct regulatory monitoring of each market and new markets that are considering enacting legal frameworks for iGaming. Our teams of professionals liaise with regulators and certification providers, and it is essential to have this dialogue and communication flow.
Internally, we have multi-disciplinary review meetings and project planning to ensure all milestones in the regulatory, technical, product, and sales road map are delivered accordingly.
It is essential to state that these processes take time and should not be rushed; attention to detail is paramount, and our partners and regulators expect this.
As you step into your new role, what is your vision for Digitain’s growth in the iGaming industry, and how do you plan to achieve this?
My vision for Digitain’s growth in the iGaming industry is to maximise our potential by not only expanding in our current markets but also entering new markets where our technologies, and solutions, and unique partner-centric approach can help large operators significantly grow their businesses and gain a competitive edge.
We have various data-driven strategies in place to achieve this vision, which we plan to implement this year. As the sales team, we believe our main responsibility is to showcase the hard work of our 3,000+ employees to the world, and we are determined to do so with a winning mindset.
What qualities do you look for in your team, and how do you foster a culture of innovation and excellence?
As the newly appointed Chief Sales Officer, my goal is to empower every member of my team and fully support their growth and development. This can only be achieved through ongoing learning and development, as well as discipline and diligence that are the main qualities I am looking for.
I believe in leading by example giving individuals the freedom to make mistakes, learn from them, and ultimately flourish. Additionally, in Digitain, our policy is to heavily invest in our talents, invest in their learning and development, plus we have created a work environment with state-of-the-art facilities and comprehensive support to prioritize their physical health and mental well-being.
How do you plan to strengthen relationships with existing partners and customers, and what strategies do you use to attract new partnerships in the iGaming sector?
As the former Head of Strategy, I have established strong connections and relationships with many of our key partners. It is my intention to uphold these relationships in my current position, as it is one of my main responsibilities. Strengthening relationships with the existing partners is crucial for business growth. To achieve this, it is important to maintain proximity to our partners, investigate and prioritize their needs, and have a deep understanding of their market requirements to actively support the growth of their businesses.
When it comes to new partnerships, our approach involves a careful selection process where we prioritize certain criteria. We aim to work only with partners who have the potential to gain a competitive edge in their market and achieve top-ranking status with the help of our products, solutions, and support that are designed to assist them in reaching their goals.
Additionally, Digitain is establishing more sales offices to be close to our partners worldwide; we have opened offices in London, England, and Bucharest, Romania, and shall be expanding our physical presence in LatAm very shortly. The physical presence is vital to our local partners and further helps increase the awareness of Digitain in those core markets.
Our brand ambassador, Luis Figo, who has signed on for another year, has been wonderful, given his international presence in Europe and Latin America, further raising the awareness of Digitain in critical global markets. Our collaboration with Luis is unique in the B2B iGaming vertical, and we look forward to his attendance at the up-and-coming ICE London show and other events planned throughout 2024.
Regulatory landscapes in the iGaming industry are continually changing. How does Digitain, under your sales leadership, plan to navigate these changes?
Digitain is committed to flexibility and adaptability when it comes to accommodating to partner’s needs in their markets or jurisdictional requirements. This process, to my deep belief, is only possible to conduct successfully when there’s an ongoing dialogue between the Operator and the respective stakeholders of the Provider, such as Compliance, Technology and Business.
Under my leadership, one of my core missions should be to facilitate this dialogue because this will not only nourish the partnerships with existing partners from different regulated markets but also ease our journey to expanding our footprint into more regulated markets.