Phil Pearson bows out as CEO of White Label Casinos after nearly a decade of growth and grit

After nearly a decade with the company, Phil Pearson has announced his resignation as CEO from White Label Casinos, marking the end of a defining era at the white-label casino solutions provider.

In a candid and reflective post shared on social media, Mr Pearson wrote: “After almost nine years I have resigned from White Label Casinos. This is a sad post to write but if I don’t I will keep getting people offering me banking solutions every 35 seconds, so it had to be done.”

His journey with the company began in 2017, when he joined as Head of Sales and Account Management – a role he admits he may have been underprepared for at the time. “Way over my head,” he recalled, noting that he spent the first year working “every hour in the calendar” to learn the ropes. But even that wasn’t enough, he added, as the industry itself “changes faster than you learn it.”

Fast-forward to 2023, and White Label Casinos (WLC) emerged from a company split, with Mr Pearson stepping up as CEO. “I had the privilege of running it until last week,” he said.

Under his leadership, WLC reached a number of key milestones, including gross gaming revenue targets and a legal win against the Swedish regulator. Yet, for Mr Pearson, the real achievements were more personal in nature.

“Mostly for me it comes down to memories with the people who make up the core of what we stood for,” he said, citing a culture built on inclusion, internal promotion, knowledge sharing and growth. “Unlike so many companies, I tried to promote the ethos of inclusion… from the first day to my last.”

He went on to recall an eclectic list of highlights, from bungee jumping off the world’s tallest fixed structure in Macau to inventing target wall games for industry events. There were also touching moments, such as raising “an insane amount of money for charities” over four years, and even helping a staff member avoid deportation by calling the head of immigration.

Other moments were more humorous – like an HR team pitch about investing in weed farms with leverage, or an Account Manager who accidentally broke his toe in a raft.

Above all, what seems to have meant the most to Mr Pearson was watching people grow. “Taking pride in their success and laughing at the failures together… Watching people go from never speaking in meetings to running workshops,” he said. “You can’t beat that.”

Reflecting on his leadership style, Mr Pearson noted that he often “took a chance on hiring differently,” investing in people’s potential and guiding them to believe in themselves.

“I used to say it’s not a family, it’s a well-functioning sports team,” he wrote. “I was wrong. It is a family. But not one you’re forced to love. One you choose to and you can’t help not.”

As for what’s next, Mr Pearson is opting for a long overdue break. “What am I going to do now? I’m going to watch cricket for three months,” he said. After nine intense years – interrupted only by “two weeks in a Mexican hospital” – he said, “It’s time for a break.”

He added that while he might lend a hand to a couple of people on the side, “nothing serious” is on the horizon for now. Long-term, he’s toying with simpler dreams: “A small part of me wants to just own an animal sanctuary or a sandwich shop. Or both. Just with very defined food safety guidelines.”

Addressing whether he would describe himself as a workaholic, Mr Pearson offered a nuanced view: “I think workaholic isn’t accurate. I loved what I did and wanted to be great at it so it wasn’t work for a long time, it was passion… Over the past couple of years it really caught up with me and a break is definitely needed,” he told MaltaCEOs.mt.