New chair and interim CEO for Mighty Kingdom
The new chair of Mighty Kingdom says “nothing is off the table” for the firm’s future as an interim CEO with more than 25 years of experience in the industry joins the game developer.
A void left by the late 2024 departure of the former Mighty Kingdom CEO will be filled on an interim basis by an Australian video games industry veteran, while the company’s chair has stepped down as part of a planned restructure of the board.
Dylan Miklashek will replace David Yin as Mighty Kingdom’s Player One, after the former CEO resigned in November. Yin was the Adelaide-based video game developer’s third CEO since January 2023 and was appointed to deliver a new vision for the company.
Miklashek has more than 25 years of experience in the video game industry and has worked with the likes of Gameloft, EA, Pandemic and THQ. He has been working for Mighty Kingdom in a product development role for the past six months.
The incoming interim CEO has led teams on major video game franchises including FIFA, NHL, MVP Baseball, WWE, Batman, The Oregon Trail and more, and founded Gameloft Brisbane in 2014. While there, he delivered original IPs and licenced games, and the company won an AGDA Award for Australian Studio of the Year in 2022.
He is also a board director at Screen Queensland and recently lobbied the Queensland and Federal governments for a combined 45 per cent tax rebate for Australian video game development.
Miklashek will be paid $150,000 annually and will receive $40,000 worth of Mighty Kingdom stock, but it is unlikely he will earn that full amount as his term as interim CEO is expected to end on 25 April 2025.
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Meanwhile, Adelaide-based corporate advisor Duncan Gordon will replace David Butorac as chair of Mighty Kingdom.
Butorac announced he would step down today with immediate effect, having joined the company in 2022 as a non-executive director.
Gordon will not be paid director fees during his tenure as non-executive chair as Cerberus Advisory – which Gordon is executive director of – provides corporate advisory services to Mighty Kingdom.
The new chair has extensive experience in advising ASX-listed companies, particularly Adelaide-based firms in the technology and mining sectors.
“Mighty Kingdom faces a rebuilding process after what has been a difficult period, with market-based factors as well as a less than satisfactory approach towards capital management and strategic imperatives,” he said.
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“Working with the rest of the board and the revised management team, we are committed to delivering fresh opportunities to the company whilst ensuring the current studio operations are run as efficiently as possible.
“Nothing is off the table in terms of those opportunities if they can add value for shareholders.”
The news follows Mighty Kingdom entering into a $1.2 million debt facility on Christmas Eve.
In its business update, the company said its contracts “continue to be serviced effectively with ongoing initiatives underway to drive profitability and minimising cash burn”.
“In addition, the company is actively progressing corporate opportunities that it believes have the potential to add significantly to shareholder value.
“It is expected that additional updates will be made to shareholders in the short term with respect to both ongoing operations, new opportunities and board composition.”
The debt facility was put in place for ongoing working capital requirements for Mighty Kingdom and was secured against R&D and Digital Games Tax Offset rebates owed to it by the South Australian and Federal governments.
“This facility had the strong support of existing and new investors to MKL including participation by directors of the company,” Mighty Kingdom said.
“The board of Mighty Kingdom confirms that it is currently able to pay all of its debts, as and when they become due and payable.”
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