Why Hacksaw Gaming removed CEO Christoffer Källberg after strong Q1 2026 results
Hacksaw’s board has dismissed Group CEO Christoffer Källberg and appointed board member and M&A lawyer Ana Vrabic Verdir as interim chief. This change comes just days after the company reported a strong first quarter of 2026. Official stock exchange announcements say the board took the decision after a “careful and thorough review” of leadership and that the change is meant to “further align with the Group’s strategic direction,” with no mention of misconduct or a single triggering event.
The key question is obvious: why would a board move on its CEO right after a headline friendly quarter, and what does that say about Hacksaw’s next phase?
Strong Q1 2026 results set the scene
In Q1 2026, Hacksaw reported revenue of about €57.6 million. This represents an increase of roughly 28% compared to the previous year. The company also saw very high adjusted operating margins, with profit after tax rising to around €45.5 million. These figures, along with a growing game output and new market entries, supported SiGMA News’ coverage of “strong Q1 2026 results” for Hacksaw Gaming. This framing highlighted the quarter as a continuation of the company’s growth story rather than a setback.
So this is not a case of a CEO being pushed out after a bad quarter. The removal lands immediately after a set of results that most suppliers in the space would love to publish, which makes the timing more striking for investors and partners.
What the official statements actually say
The formal “change of CEO” announcements, carried through Nasdaq and mirrored on outlets like Morningstar, Inderes and MarketScreener, use almost identical wording. They state that:
• The board has decided to release Källberg from his duties as Group CEO, effective immediately.
• The decision follows a “careful and thorough review” of the current leadership.
• The board believes a change of CEO is appropriate to better align with the Group’s strategic direction, while emphasising that the strategy itself remains unchanged.
• Operations across the group’s subsidiaries are said to continue as normal, and Källberg is thanked for his contribution, including through the IPO.
Chairman Patrick Svensk: “No weird things, no craziness”
The most revealing explanation so far comes from an interview with chairman Patrick Svensk on Swedish business channel EFN, which gives a rare on record peek into the board’s thinking. In that segment, Svensk stresses that “nothing has happened” to prompt the move and that there are “no weird things and no craziness”, adding that the company is happy with what Källberg has delivered and that the business is performing well.
He frames the change instead as a search for a “somewhat different profile” of CEO for a new phase, explicitly saying the board has a good strategy and good development, but now wants leadership that better matches its ambitions.
Why the board moved “on the day”
EFN also tackles the question many shareholders ask in these situations: why let the CEO go immediately, instead of keeping him in place until a replacement is found? Svensk’s answer is blunt: once a CEO knows they are leaving, you “don’t get 110%,” so it is “better just to change,” rather than keep a lame duck chief in place.
He explains that the evaluation of leadership had been going on for a long time, but the formal decision was taken at a board meeting that same morning, timed early to accommodate an American board member, and then communicated around lunchtime. That lines up with exchange disclosures noting that the board had resolved to dismiss Källberg, rather than framing it as a slow, mutual transition.
The Betsson comparison and Svensk’s own history
EFN directly raises parallels with Betsson, where Svensk, as chair, was involved in removing long-time CEO Pontus Lindwall before leaving the board himself as shareholder confidence eroded, after which a new board brought Lindwall back. Svensk calls that episode “a damn unfortunate story” that he and others would rather forget, and insists the Hacksaw situation is “completely different,” while accepting that the comparison is natural.
For the market, the Betsson history is a reminder that board judgement and communication will be watched closely here. The difference this time is that Svensk is going out of his way, on camera, to underline that the company is performing well and that there is no underlying scandal driving the move.
Why appoint M&A lawyer Ana Vrabic Verdir as interim CEO?
The board has turned to Ana Vrabic Verdir, already a non-executive director, as interim Group CEO. Official governance pages and her LinkedIn profile show that she is a corporate and M&A lawyer by background, with experience advising on transactions and a role as legal counsel in Swedish firms, as well as board positions within the Hacksaw group.
In the exchange releases, the company notes that she will remain on the board but is no longer considered independent of management during her interim tenure, and that the remuneration committee has been reshuffled to reflect that. The board also makes clear that a search is underway for a permanent Group CEO with the help of an external executive search firm.
Strategy, Hacksaw Ventures and the “new profile”
The CEO change comes shortly after Hacksaw launched Hacksaw Ventures, an investment arm aimed at backing early stage gaming and tech companies, signalling that the group is planning to deploy more capital beyond its core studio operations. Combined with rapid expansion into new regulated markets and high margin growth in the core business, the company is entering a phase where capital allocation, partnerships and M&A become more central.
Putting an M&A specialist in as interim CEO fits that picture: it gives the board a trusted legal and transaction oriented operator at the controls while it searches for a long-term chief who fits the “new profile” Svensk describes. For now, the board insists that Hacksaw’s overall strategy is unchanged; what is changing is the person executing it day to day.
Market reaction and what comes next
So far, the market reaction has been measured. Around the time of the announcement, Hacksaw’s shares were trading modestly higher on the day, with MarketScreener data showing the stock still up strongly year to date and analysts maintaining positive outlooks. Research notes from Nordic brokers had recently lifted target prices on the back of strong Q1 growth and margin resilience, underscoring that the investment case going into the CEO change was broadly constructive.
For operators, affiliates and suppliers, the practical message is that Hacksaw’s games and commercial plans carry on as normal, but leadership at group level is in flux. The real story to watch is whether the eventual permanent CEO tilts the company more toward aggressive deal driven expansion through Ventures and acquisitions, or toward a steadier, margin protective growth path.
How this ties back to SiGMA’s Q1 coverage
When SiGMA News reported on Hacksaw Gaming’s Q1 2026 results, we highlighted a business showing 28% year-on-year revenue growth and very high profitability as it expanded its content and market reach. The removal of the CEO days later does not alter those numbers, but it does change who the board wants to lead that growth story.
Taken together, the strong quarter, the official “strategic alignment” language, Svensk’s “no weird things” reassurance, and the choice of an M&A lawyer as interim CEO, the clearest reading is that this is a governance and next phase strategy play, not a fire fighting exercise. For now, Hacksaw still looks like a high growth, high margin supplier; the open question, and the one SiGMA will keep following, is what kind of leader the board finally picks to carry that momentum into its next chapter.
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