Yaroslava Romaniv on GR8_TECH’s Performance-Led Brand and Partnership Strategy

Yaroslava Romaniv, Head of Marketing & PR at GR8 TECH, is at the forefront of shaping the company’s global brand as it continues to expand its position in the B2B iGaming technology market.

From its partnership with Ready to Fight by Oleksandr Usyk and José Mourinho’s appointment as Chief Champion Officer, GR8_TECH has made high-profile partnerships a defining part of how it builds its identity, engages the industry and supports commercial growth. At the same time, initiatives such as Bet It Drives reflect a broader focus on industry expertise, content and thought leadership.

In this interview, Romaniv explores the strategy behind these milestones, how GR8 TECH turns partnerships into meaningful business opportunities, the evolving demands of iGaming operators, and the next chapter in the company’s growth.

As Head of Marketing & PR, how do you see your role in translating the company’s growth strategy into brand positioning, market presence and commercial opportunities?

Yaroslava Romaniv: GR8_TECH is growing as a technology brand, so my role is to make sure the market clearly understands who we are, who we are built for, and why operators should trust us with high-performance business. Every marketing move has to support stronger recognition and trust, and better conversations with the right operators and partners.

The iGaming market is crowded, so growth alone won’t do. My job is to connect strategy with market perception and help turn GR8_TECH’s ambition into a brand people recognize, remember, and want to work with.

GR8_TECH’s partnership with Ready to Fight by Oleksandr Usyk and José Mourinho’s appointment as Chief Champion Officer mark two very different milestones for the company. What has GR8_TECH been deliberately building through this progression?

Yaroslava Romaniv: They are part of the same brand direction. With Ready to Fight and José Mourinho as Chief Champion Officer, GR8_TECH has been deliberately building a brand world around performance. Not performance as a nice word for some campaign, but performance as preparation, discipline, and consistency.

Both partnerships share the belief that winning doesn’t depend on luck but on the work behind the scenes. Whether in boxing, football, or iGaming, strong results come from preparation. That’s how we want operators to see GR8_TECH: not just as a technology provider, but as a partner for companies serious about long-term growth. So the progression is intentional, as we’re moving from visibility to meaning, building a brand with its own language, high standards, and a strong market position.

With Ready to Fight, the original ambition was to bring the boxing world closer through technology and build a “stronger, smarter platform.” Looking back at the partnership so far, what has GR8_TECH learned about taking a collaboration from a shared vision into something with a life of its own?

Yaroslava Romaniv: One of the lessons was that both brands need to keep contributing. If only one side is active, the partnership quickly becomes passive. We also learned that timing matters: when to communicate, when to let the story breathe, and when to connect it to a bigger business or industry moment.

Our partnership with Ready to Fight showed that a partnership grows when there is something new to build after the launch, with clear ownership, next steps, and regular reasons for the audience, media, and partners to stay interested.

Mourinho’s role goes beyond traditional ambassador work: he sits at the centre of Champions Club and its “Champions don’t believe in luck” philosophy. What does having a figure associated with strategy, experience and control at the centre of the platform enable GR8_TECH to communicate — and build — differently?

Yaroslava Romaniv: It lets us connect the “Champions don’t believe in luck” philosophy to operator challenges like traffic peaks, market entry, scaling, risk, speed, and decision-making under pressure.

Champions Club gives us a platform to frame GR8_TECH’s technology, analytics, infrastructure, and expertise around outcomes operators care about most (stability, control, and sustainable growth). It also helps our commercial teams move beyond product features and open stronger conversations about what it takes to perform consistently in iGaming.

GR8_TECH is bringing the Champions Arena to SBC Summit Lisbon, turning its “Platform for Champions” concept into a space focused on technology, business and operator conversations. What do you want the market to take away from GR8_TECH’s presence?

Yaroslava Romaniv: To understand that GR8_TECH is a platform for operators who want to compete seriously. Champion platforms, champion thinking, and champion conversations — all in one place.

The Champions Arena is built to show how we think as a company: practical, performance-focused, and grounded in the challenges operators face. If someone comes to our stand with a question about launching faster, improving sportsbook performance, reducing operational complexity, managing affiliates more effectively, or preparing for traffic peaks, they should be able to speak with the right expert and leave with a clearer next step.

We’ll be showcasing the full portfolio, but the point is to connect those products to business outcomes. Acceler8 Lab is also a big part of that. We want to bring useful education into the stand experience. Operators should leave with ideas they can actually take back to their teams.

How has Bet It Drives evolved as a platform for bringing GR8_TECH’s expertise and industry perspective to a wider audience, and what role does it play in the company’s broader content strategy?

Yaroslava Romaniv: Bet It Drives started as a podcast, but it quickly became obvious that the idea could become something bigger. The show proved there was a big demand for deeper industry conversations beyond the usual announcements.

Turning it into a media platform was the next step. Now Bet It Drives brings together conversations, written interviews, market signals, analysis, quotes, guest profiles, and future original content with brand ambassadors.

It extends the life of our expertise. One podcast episode can become an article, a quote, a market observation, a digest, or a discussion starter for partners and operators.

In our broader content strategy, Bet It Drives is a separate editorial platform powered by GR8_TECH, with its own voice and audience. It shows our understanding of the market by curating the conversations and insights that matter to the people leading it.

As operators face increasingly complex demands, where is GR8_TECH seeing the greatest need from its partners, and how is the company helping address it? 

Yaroslava Romaniv: I think the biggest need we see is control. Operators are dealing with more markets, products, partners, data, compliance, and higher player expectations. They need to launch fast, manage the business properly, and grow without losing control.

Some partners need a full turnkey platform to enter a market faster. Others need support with trading performance, risk management, margins, operational costs, crypto, affiliate growth, casino aggregation, or better business visibility. Our role is to understand where the operator feels pressure and connect them with the right technology, product expertise, and long-term operational support.

What is the next evolution you are working towards, and can you give us a glimpse of what could redefine how a B2B iGaming technology company approaches partnerships?

Yaroslava Romaniv: We already build around shared success, and our next step is making our partnership model more visible, structured, and useful for operators as the market becomes more complex.

I think this is where B2B iGaming partnerships can be redefined. Not by saying “we are your partner,” because everyone says that, but by proving it through intelligence, education, and stronger business collaboration.

That means bringing more benchmark-driven conversations, operator education, market-specific planning, and honest performance discussions into the relationship. Our initiatives, such as Acceler8 Lab, The Locker Room, Champions Club, and Bet It Drives, support that direction by creating different ways to share knowledge and help operators think beyond the next launch or campaign.

For us, the future is about turning partnership into a broader performance ecosystem: technology, expertise, content, education, data, and community all working together to help operators make better decisions and grow with greater confidence.