Interview with Cosmo Currey, Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Van Kaizen

Cosmo Currey runs Isle of Man-based headhunting company Van Kaizen, an executive search firm specifically within the online gambling industry.

Tell us about how your career in the iGaming industry started.

I was at university in Moscow. I was born in London, got privately educated. I went to Moscow when I was 18. I knew nobody. I didn’t speak any Russian, nothing. I spent three years in Moscow and got a degree from Moscow State University in Russian language. I thought if I could speak Russian, I could speak Japanese. I went off to Tokyo. I lived in Yokohama. I studied in Tokyo in a place called Kudanshita, and I got a post-graduate in Japanese.

Having spent quite a bit of time learning languages, I thought I’d love to build my career, so I landed up in Amsterdam. I started my career as a headhunter working in the world trade centers. This was just before the 2008–2009 crisis. It took me while to understand how to headhunt, but eventually I got it. At the beginning of 2010–2011, I moved to the Isle of Man where my grandmother was living. I really started doing some consulting work here but eventually moved to recruitment specifically for the online casino gaming industry — obviously it’s very big if here on the Isle of Man. And it kind of built from there.

We operate all over the world. We have an office in Asia. We have an office in South America. We have a team in Malta. We have a lot of people in the Isle of Man. What’s quite interesting about us are two things. First, everything that we do is based on referral. We have never done any advertising at all. So everybody that knows of us is done a hundred percent on referral — all of our clients, all of our candidates. We keep it very quiet. We are incredibly discreet. And our clients come to us when the position is critical to their business. And often, they come to us after they’ve been to other recruitment agencies. And they say, “Look, we haven’t found what we want. We now want to engage you, guys. So we say, “Sure, we’ll take it on.” So that’s kind of where we are placed in the market.

As someone who has focus on various markets, which market do you think has the most exciting movement as far as gaming is concerned?

As I said, it’s all done through referrals. We aren’t particularly the smallest business either, so we are actually 10 people. And we cover every single time zone, every geographical location from a time zone point of view. We have somebody overseeing Asia, South America, Europe — the three major time zones. We’ve seen some incredible things happen in the industry over time, but one of the things we’re seeing is the integration of new payment methods, obviously blockchain.

We’re seeing a real movement in product. One of the things most people find fascinating is one of our clients that’s based in Asia offers the highest salary in eGaming industry — an eGaming company in the Philippines. They offer salaries that are three times that of what you might get paid in Malta, the Isle of Man, England, Gibraltar — which is fascinating because the cost of living in the Philippines is absolutely nothing. What it shows us is that the Asian market is quite extraordinary. It’s the most dynamic kind of gambling market we’ve ever seen. And there’s some interesting movement that’s about to happen in Asia that we think will have a massive impact to the rest of the world. So one of the focuses is the Asian market because for me there are some interesting things about to happen there.

I see you are excited for the impact the Asian market will have on the rest of the world. What are your thoughts on the iGaming sector in Russia and other territories?

Countries like those in Asia and Russia massively need blockchain to support what they’re doing. The problem for us is making sure that the government is prepared to put in some form of legislation because without that, I think the people are very worried and slightly scared that they won’t be able to withdraw their money.

The blockchain, I think, will be more evidently and more prevailing in different countries. But I think we’ll also start to see some movement within the esports betting side where people are interested in people playing professional computer games like Nintendo or League of Legends. I think these are gonna be very very big in the same area. Between the gambling industry, the actual esports industry, and the blockchain industry, I think they will be a very interesting combination of all three that will spin off to become its own completely separate industry.

One of the reasons why we are so passionate about the eGaming industry is because they are phenomenally good at looking after their staff. And as an executive headhunter, we want to place people in positions where they can enjoy it. And of course, we want to put them into companies that are gonna really look after them. One of the things we did when we set up the business is we have a very small amount of clients, around 35. The reason for that is we interviewed every single business, and we believe that the ones we work with and represent are the most exciting ones inside the sector. It also allowed us to present a shortlist without a conflict of interest.

What sets you apart from other headhunting companies in the online casino and sports betting sectors?

If we can relocate a guy who’s created a product, we make sure not only he and his wife or partner are happy. We probably wanna also make sure that the children are also happy. So it is the right environment that to move the person into. I know a lot of people and recruiters also say this. They all sound right, but really when it comes to it, they didn’t care. We really give a shit.

The bottom line is this: If I introduce somebody to a business, and I know that that person isn’t gonna work well with that company for whatever reason, I will say to them, both of them, “Guys, this isn’t gonna work.” I’ll say “Let me find you someone else” to the client. And to the candidate, “Let me find you something else.”

You can build up a great reputation, but you can destroy it very quickly. So for me, I absolutely have to stand by, especially when our business is done on referral. It’s a huge thing for me that we get the right person and the right thing.

Tell us about the potential of the market where you are mainly based in, the Isle of Man. What piece of advice can you give to the region’s government?

I sat with the Isle of Man government the other day, and they were saying, “We want to be promoting the Isle of Man to the 18, 19, 20 of the market.” And I said, “Why? That’s crazy! That’s not what the Isle of Man is. The Isle of Man is the most incredible place when you have children and you want a safe way of life. It’s never gonna be the partying kind of capital of Europe. That’s not just what it is. Don’t try be be something that you’re not. Work on what you are, embrace it, cherish it, but then make sure that what you attract in is reflective of that. So to try be this amazing place for graduates (18-, 19-year-olds) that want sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll in London — this is not gonna work for them. I think getting the right environment for the individual dependent on their age, what they want in life, where they want to go — that is really really important.

What do you think is the role of women today in the iGaming space?

Actually, 50% to 60% of our business is women in Van Kaizen. And they are extraordinary, absolutely incredible. They do a brilliant job.

In regard to women working directly in the industry, we are seeing more and more take lead positions inside some huge organizations. And they do an incredible job. I think the mentality that you had to be a man, you had to go out drinking, you had to be partying — I think there’s a reality that says you don’t have to be a man, you don’t have to be drinking until 2 in the morning, you don’t have to be going to every party. We can do really good business just on merits, on who we are, not how well we party together. And I’m a big advocate of this. So for me, business that is conducted with a sense of safety and trust is such an important factor. So we’re seeing really some impressive women in some very scenic companies taking lead roles, and they’re not doing this simply based on the results of what they’re producing. That is extraordinarily brilliant to see, and that’s exactly how it should be.

Considering the coronavirus crisis we’re facing, what do you think will be the big thing in the iGaming industry this 2020?

One of the most interesting things is that the coronavirus will show, from a work-business point of view, or demonstrate the capacity or ability for people to work from home and get a result. The reality here is, although a lot of people or candidates will ask us whether or not working from home or working remotely is possible, a very very small percentage of businesses in the gaming industry are really open to it. Of course, I understand they might be travelling, but to do it day in, day out, every single day, to work from home is something that Europe is still very skeptical or cautious of. I know in America, it’s a big thing.

So, the coronavirus has pushed people into working from home. It’s very interesting to see how businesses will respond to this — if they are okay with people working from home and if they get the same results. If they do, there will be a very big shift, I think, from how people land out working ultimately from home, how they move into a new space.

I think we’re entering into a new era of working. If it doesn’t work, we will go back to the way were. And if it does work, then that’s amazing. But we’re trying something new as humans whose formula to survival is evolving, how to evolve to work around the difficulties of reality. We do that well, and this is the next stage in our evolution.

What are the best skills you’re looking for in a candidate that wants a successful career in the iGaming space?

The single biggest trait that my clients want is enthusiasm. The thing that you cannot teach, the thing that I think our industry is famous for is the excitement, the dynamism, and the passion. And so if you don’t have that enthusiasm, you cannot really struggle.

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