FanDuel announced that co-founder Tom Griffiths will leave the daily fantasy sports company to pursue new ventures.
He follows CEO and co-founder Nigel Eccles who left the company to focus on new ventures in eSports.
Griffith’s departure had been speculated on for weeks and he gave up a position on the company’s board in August.
FanDuel also announced that Andy Giancamilli would be taking over the role of chief operating officer. He will stay on in his role of chief financial officer. Matt King took over as CEO in November.
Along with Eccles, Griffiths helped create the company that enjoyed several years as the No. 1 daily fantasy sports company until being surpassed by rival DraftKings. According to FanDuel, Griffiths led the design, build and launch of FanDuel’s website and mobile apps and oversaw innovations such as Friends Mode and NBA InPlay.
“It has been an honor to help build and lead a world-class product development organization at FanDuel,” said Griffiths. “Being a part of this industry has been an incredible journey and I am extremely proud of what we have created. I cannot wait to see what Andy, Matt, and rest of the amazingly talented team have in store.”
No replacement was named according to a press release of the company.
In another DFS matter, DraftKings tested a single-game format for a daily fantasy game during the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints playoff game. The company said it plans to offer single-game contests—which it calls Showdown—through the NFC and AFC championship games.
A single-game contest, if successful, could allow the company to offer games throughout the NFL playoffs as well as during regular season games next season. The format—where only six players are drafted—could also simplify the game for novice players.
