Breaking Barriers as a Female Leader in the iGaming Industry: Petra Zackrisson's Journey

Episode Summary

In this episode, host Leo Judkins interviews Petra Zackrisson about her fascinating journey from management consulting to diplomat to iGaming executive. Petra shares her experiences as a female leader in a male-dominated industry and offers practical advice on driving diversity, building trust with teams, and balancing short-term goals with long-term vision.

Guest Bio

Petra Zackrisson is a passionate, driven leader with extensive experience in online gaming, international business development, and strategy. She started her career at McKinsey before becoming one of the youngest trade commissioners as a diplomat. In 2013, Petra transitioned into iGaming, working in executive roles at Betsson and Kaizen Gaming. She served as SVP of Growth at Better Collective and board member at Casumo. Petra is an advocate for diversity and incremental change towards building more diversified, healthy businesses.

Key Topics

• 2:15 - Petra's unconventional career path from McKinsey to diplomat to iGaming
• 7:30 - Challenges and learnings from working across different countries and cultures
• 12:02 - Driving innovation by hiring outside talent and enabling "cross-pollination"
• 16:11 - Practical steps leaders can take to improve gender diversity in their organizations
• 24:18 - Navigating the challenges of being a female leader in a male-dominated industry
• 30:02 - How to create a culture of trust, psychological safety and high performance
• 36:10 - Balancing short-term goals and long-term vision in iGaming
• 39:25 - Petra's mentors and the leadership traits she admires and mirrors
• 42:37 - Advice for young professionals: Be kind to yourself and interview your future manager

Memorable Quotes

"I want to hang in there because I think it's very important for other young women to see that it's possible. It's possible to go all the way to the top and it's possible to do that with family and with children too."

"Diversified teams are financially sound. If you are a consumer service company, it's important that your teams reflect your target audience. Today, most companies ignore 50% of the population because they are very male-oriented."

"Trust is key. It's important to tell people what they are good at, what their strengths are. I'm asking my team for help and that showcases that they can actually tell me things and give me feedback."

Important Links:

• Connect with Petra Zackrisson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petra-zackrisson-b75a892/
• Connect with Leo Judkins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-judkins/
• Subscribe to the iGaming Leader newsletter: https://www.igamingleader.com/signup
• Join the iGaming Leader Mastermind: https://igamingleader.com/