Five minutes with... Erik Hedberg of Gaming Innovation Group
This month's quickfire Q&A comes courtesy of Betit's affiliate director
Q: If you could work for any other business, which would it be?
A: I would probably want to work within the eSports sphere.
Credit: Helena Kristiansson
Q: What changes have you made to GiG Affiliates recently?
A: The big change now is that we started the merger of Betit Affiliates with GiG Affiliates and we are now going to be a much bigger operation with a lot more resources to take care of our affiliates. We will be offering six amazing brands, which all have their own unique “sizzle” to make sure we fit into any affiliates portfolio. As a result, we now have a bigger affiliate team than some of the best in the industry.
Q: What makes GiG Affiliates a great partner for affiliates?
A: Great brands who you will soon be able to promote from one single login and data-driven affiliate managers who really can help you optimise your acquisition. Since the company’s founders are ex-affiliates themselves, the affiliate-friendly mantra has been with us from day one and we always plan our activities with affiliates in mind.
Q: What is your favourite way to relax?
A: I would love to say that it’s by going for a long run in the park, but I don’t want to lie to the readers. So to be honest, I think it’s watching Netflix and chilling with my wife.
Q: What is your favourite book?
A: I really loved Simon Scarrow’s Centurion series.
Q: What makes a good affiliate manager?
A: Strong drive and data-driven; add some social skills on top of that and you have a superstar.
Q: What is top of your bucket list?
A: To one day pull off the Swedish classic.
Q: Describe what it is like to work for GIG Affiliates.
A: Fun, hectic and rewarding.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
A: My grandfather told me “Don’t live like a sick person just so you can die healthy”; meaning let yourself enjoy life and don’t worry too much about the future.
Q: If you could have any super power for a day, what would it be and why?
A: I’m a big history buff so it would definitely be time travel to be able to see all these great historical events live.
Q: Which three people would you invite to your dream dinner party?
A: Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar so I can listen to them duke it out about who was the greatest.
I started working in gaming in the brick and mortar casinos in Sweden and then moved online in 2006, working in poker which was the big thing back then. I moved to Betsafe which was just a small company back in 2009 which ended up being acquired by Betsson. I then stayed as head of affiliates for Betsson until 2013 when I accepted the job of setting up the affiliate department for Thrills.com which now is a part of GiG Affiliates.