XSET Promotes Steve Birkhold to Chief Operating Officer
Birkhold takes over from Marco Mereu.
Gaming and esports lifestyle company XSET has promoted Steve Birkhold to the role of chief operating officer. The promotion of Birkhold was announced by XSET CEO and Co-Founder Greg Selkoe on Thursday in a release. Birkhold, who joined the company in December of 2021 to take on the role of chief merchandising officer, replaces Marco Mereu in the role.
Steve Birkhold told us in a phone call on Thursday afternoon that his first order of business in the new role is to generate revenue for the company—which is pretty much what he has been doing in his previous role:
“I've been with XSET now for 10 months and I've been working within a senior role that entire time on business and merchandising strategy and helping the organization position itself for long-term sustainable future growth,'' he said, adding that he is in “full alignment on the direction of the company” with the co-founders of the business.
“Really my role is to make sure that we're executing the strategy that's going to generate revenue and profit for the company, as well as continue to crush it on the esports side,” he added.
It is important to note that Mereu is still with the company, but no longer in the executive role; he remains a majority owner and a member of the board of directors, a source tells us. Further details are unknown as of this writing. Mereu, who helped co-found the organization in the summer of 2020 alongside Greg Selkoe, Wil Eddins, and Clinton Sparks, served in the chief operating officer role for more than two years.
Mereu joined XSET from publicly-traded esports company Super League Gaming in 2020, where he served as senior VP of content distribution and GM of Framerate (a company he founded), which SLG acquired in the summer of 2019.
We’ll have more on this story as it develops.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a correction on Mereu’s ongoing role as an owner and a board member of XSET.