Reboot: Man, Mind, and Machines

On November 19, we mark International Men’s Day, under the theme “Celebrating Men and Boys”. This day is a global occasion to highlight positive male role models and promote men’s health and wellbeing. At GiG, we are seizing the opportunity to celebrate the incredible men who are crucial to our company and represent over 70% of our workforce. Throughout the month, we’ll be turning the spotlight on our teams, sharing stories of our workplace, and the talented individuals whose dedication and expertise drive us forward. 

This week, we follow the career paths of Kévin Brocard, Product Director - Sportsbook and Francesco Di Costanzo , Product Owner. 

Kévin is based in our Toulouse office in France and has always been a sports enthusiast. His passion was captured by web technology in his teenage years. Since then, Kevin has tried on a variety of roles within the industry, but his drive to "make a real difference for our clients/partners, while developing innovative ideas naturally” led him to a more Product-focused role in this industry, he states.

Francesco, equally driven by a passion for sports and technology, always knew he wanted to pursue a career in Sports. He works remotely from Andalucia, Spain.

Read the full interview, and learn more about our talented Sports Team, how they work, and their thoughts on what’s next in the industry. 

“This is a very fast-moving environment, with little to no room for error, so finding the right balance between keeping up with your competitors on key features” - Kévin Brocard

How would you describe your role, and what kind of technology do you use?  

Kévin: I connect business strategy with technology execution. My job is to translate strategic objectives into actionable plans, ensuring our teams are always focused on delivering the highest business value. This means I spend most of my time communicating and organising in Confluence, Jira, Meet, and Slack!

Francesco: Management of the Sportsbook Product roadmap, prioritising items in such a way that the business goals are aligned with user needs. Coordination between development and operations to ensure high-quality feature delivery. The technology we use is mainly agile project tools such as Jira and Confluence. 

What skills from your earlier roles do you still use today? 

Kévin: I developed a strong betting business player-focused acumen at the very heart of a leading trading room when I started my career as a Sports trader - understanding how business functions (support, marketing, technology) interact was also a key foundation that allowed me to grow into management and product. 

Francesco: My trading and sportsbook knowledge is always very useful for my role today.

What are the biggest challenges you face in your current position, and how does success look in your role? 

Kévin: This is a very fast-moving environment, with little to no room for error, so finding the right balance between keeping up with your competitors on key features, bringing innovation to stand out in the market, and actually delivering our product to enable new revenue streams is proving to be the biggest challenge.

Success is measured by observing growing relevant business metrics and client satisfaction.

Francesco: The biggest challenge is managing priorities with very limited resources and capacities. Success in my role is when we deliver product features and see that value has actually been created/ achieved.

How do you make sure the Product stays competitive in the market? 

Kévin: Through constant industry intelligence and maintaining a continuous feedback loop with our clients and their players. Monitoring trends beyond sports betting and gambling in general, anticipating demand for tomorrow. And more importantly, actually engage constantly with products as a user.

Francesco: Analysing competitors, following market trends, and gathering Clients' feedback.

“Be curious and eager to learn new things about sports and technology. This is a very fast-paced industry. Always keep an eye on user behaviours and their evolution.” - Francesco Di Constanzo 

What technologies are you most excited to bring into Product? 

Kévin: I would say AI is very much in the air at the moment, with so many use cases identified and yet to be discovered. Possibilities appear to be endless, from creating tailor-made betting experiences to building tomorrow’s betting markets.

Francesco: AI-driven tools that will allow us to provide players with a "Netflix experience” (each player has their own sportsbook based on their preferences, actions, in other words).

What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow a similar path? 

Kévin: Start where it matters the most: Understand what your current and potential clients need, and work backwards to build your skillset.

Don’t underestimate the importance of execution. Strategy is useless if you can’t execute on it. And learn to say no to protect true value creation. 

Francesco: Be curious and eager to learn new things about sports and technology. This is a very fast-paced industry. Always keep an eye on user behaviours and their evolution. 

If you weren’t working in Sports Product, what career would you imagine yourself in? 

Kévin: Likely something close to financial markets or into professional sports performance. 

Francesco: Most likely product development in another fast-moving industry.

Celebrating the unique journey of each individual is an ongoing commitment at GiG. We are proud of creating a workplace where everyone can thrive, built on a people-first culture that places balance, respect, and well-being at its core. 

Learn more about our initiatives on our Life Page on LinkedIn and discover our current job openings on our Careers page. Apply today!