CEO, Skillz

About Skillz

If you want to build, own, and see your impact — join Skillz and level up your career.

Skillz is the competition infrastructure platform that powers real-money, skill-based tournaments inside mobile games. We didn't just enter the competitive gaming market — we invented it. Founded in 2012 by entrepreneur and inventor Andrew Paradise, Skillz built the category from scratch: the patented matchmaking, identity, payments, fraud protection, and developer tools that make fair, real-stakes competition possible at scale.

Skillz hosts billions of casual mobile gaming tournaments for millions of players worldwide and is revolutionizing the gaming industry. By fostering social competition within games, the Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling real-money activity in their games and providing operational support while connecting players through fair, enjoyable, and meaningful competition.

Today, Skillz is part of FIRY (NYSE: FIRY) — a global holding company operating at the intersection of gaming, AI-powered performance marketing, and developer infrastructure. Alongside RZR, our AI-driven ad network, and Beamable, our backend and LiveOps platform, Skillz sits at the center of a compounding data flywheel that no standalone competitor can replicate. 800,000+ daily tournaments. $7.5 billion in lifetime prizes paid to players. 90 million registered users.

We're a high-conviction team of builders who came from Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, X, Roblox, Zynga, Samsung, Lyft, EA, Riot, Nexon, Gameskraft, PlayStation, Unity, Scopely, Tinder, Intel, Deloitte, EY, Twitch, DraftKings, Wynn Resorts, and more. We operate like a startup, hold ourselves to high standards, and move fast with purpose. If you want to work on infrastructure that matters — and be part of a team that fights for what it builds — Skillz is the right place.

About the Role

As CEO of Skillz, you will own the full business including P&L, global team, and strategic and operational growth for one the world’s largest skill-based gaming platforms. You're inheriting a 100+ person organization with real momentum and a mandate to scale: more players, more games, more revenue. You will report directly to the CEO of FIRY and operate as a peer to the CEOs of other FIRY businesses, a collaborative leadership team building three interconnected businesses.

Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Define and execute the strategic vision for Skillz's platform identifying opportunities to expand player base, game titles, and tournament formats
• Set growth targets for player acquisition, retention, and monetization, and translate them into roadmaps across Product, Live Ops, and Marketing
• Stay close to the global competitive landscape for skill-based gaming and ensure the product roadmap reflects player demand across key markets

Team & Org Building

• Inspire, develop, and scale a high performing global leadership team across Product, Engineering, Growth Marketing, Live Ops and Player Operations, Developer Success
• Recruit and develop senior talent with gaming/mobile platform expertise and foster a player-first, data-driven culture across the organization

Operational and Financial Leadership

• Own full P&L for Skillz, driving revenue growth across the business while maintaining platform profitability and hitting EBITDA targets
• Oversee operations across Product, Engineering, Live Ops, Growth, Developer Success and Player Support to ensure seamless tournament and gameplay experiences
• Own platform and business health across MAU, revenue, LTV/CAC, and EBITDA; track retention, ARPU, and churn as leading indicators; and hold the org accountable to product velocity and Developer NPS.
• Build budgets and forecasts tied to CAC, LTV, and prize pool structures, and manage cost efficiency across the business

Stakeholder & Board Management

• Serve as the primary liaison between Skillz and FIRY corporate leadership, reporting on platform performance, player metrics, and market trends
• Represent Skillz to external stakeholders including gaming industry bodies, regulators, payment partners, and potential publishers/developers
• Present regular business reviews and strategic plans on platform growth and competitive positioning to FIRY leadership

Key Competencies

1. Resilient operator. Thrives in fast-moving, high-ambiguity environments. Comfortable inheriting a team mid-build and raising the bar without losing momentum.
2. True business owner. Runs the P&L like a founder and understands the trade-offs between product investment, time-to-ship, and revenue outcomes, and makes calls accordingly.
3. High-performance team builder. Sets a clear standard, develops senior talent, and is willing to make tough people decisions to protect the quality of the org.
4. Hands-on leader. Will step in and do the work (not just direct it) when the situation calls for it, and uses those moments to coach and calibrate the team.
5. Passionate about games. Has genuine enthusiasm for the gaming industry and understands what makes players come back.
6. Impact-driven. Motivated by building something that matters. Platform-level impact on the industry, and meaningful personal upside tied to the business's success.

Experience

1. Full-cycle experience that has taken a business through build, fundraise, scale, and ideally exit or acquisition
2. Proven track record of scaling revenue beyond $20M, with the ability to grow a business to $500M+ over time. Someone who knows how to accelerate a business that already has traction
3. Operating experience at the GM, President, or CEO level of a scaled consumer technology or marketplace business, with full ownership of both product and commercial outcomes
4. Experience managing globally distributed teams of 50+
5. Background in consumer mobile, real-money gaming, ad tech, fintech, or marketplace businesses
6. Nice to have: founder or co-founder experience, or direct experience operating alongside India-based engineering and R&D teams

Starting Base Salary: $300,000 + Bonus + Equity

Location: Hybrid in Bangalore, India or Remote in the US

Travel Requirement: Less than 50% travel (International and Domestic)

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