Ramiro Atucha: Why Most Founders Are Wrong About Who Should Lead Their Company | The iGaming Leader Podcast
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Ramiro Atucha: Why Most Founders Are Wrong About Who Should Lead Their Company

Leo sits down with Ramiro Atucha, co-founder of Leander Games and Vibra Gaming, who has voluntarily stepped down as CEO of two companies he built from scratch. Ramiro pulls back the curtain on recognising when you are no longer the right person to lead what you created, the difference between ego an

Ramiro Atucha
Co-founder, Leander Games & Vibra Gaming
Watch the episode Apply to the Mastermind 06 Jun 2026 · Sponsored by Sumsub

01 · Watch the episode

The full conversation

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02 · The guest

Ramiro Atucha

Co-founder, Leander Games & Vibra Gaming

Ramiro Atucha is a gaming industry executive and strategic advisor with more than 20 years of experience building and scaling businesses across Europe and Latin America. He previously co-founded and led Leander Games and later co-founded Vibra Gaming, helping build both businesses into recognized industry names. Today, he is the founder of Atucha Strategic Advisory, where he advises operators, suppliers, and investors on growth strategy, market expansion, and opportunities across Latin America.

Follow Ramiro on LinkedIn →

03 · Inside this episode

Moments worth queuing up

00:00 Stepping down from two companies you built: what it actually feels like.
05:00 The morning you post on LinkedIn that you're leaving the company you co-founded.
09:00 As CEO, the ultimate responsibility is always yours.
11:00 Ego vs. self-esteem: why anything driven by ego is cursed.
13:00 Bringing Steven Matsell in as CEO at Leander in 2012.
18:00 Essence preservation: what happens when majority shareholders take the company in a direction you can't stop.
23:00 Launching Atucha Strategic Advisory: why he chose five clients over thirty.
28:00 LATAM regulators are making the same mistakes as the UK and Germany.
33:00 Where founder CEOs spend their time incorrectly.
38:00 Validating yourself in new rooms.

In his own words

01 / 05

“It's always painful to realise that the company you created, you grew as a baby, that you put the hours and the time into... that you're not the right person to continue to lead it.”

02 / 05

“I hate the word ego. Anything driven by ego is cursed. Self-esteem is a lot better. My self-esteem is bulletproof.”

03 / 05

“As CEO, the ultimate responsible is you. If a bill is not paid, you cannot hide behind finance.”

04 / 05

“Imagine you're in a boat and all of a sudden the captain says: 'I have no clue where we are.' People will start jumping out of the boat.”

05 / 05

“The company needs to make more money by working with me than they did before. That's how I'll be judged.”

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