Niculae has held senior roles across the technology and communications industry, working for software giant Oracle and telecommunications business Ericsson.
She then joined GiG in 2017, initially as chief operating officer for its B2B platform business iGamingCloud, then took on a more expansive strategic role from 2018 onwards.
In this position she was named among the industry’s Most Influential Women by iGB in 2019.
She now takes charge of IGG, an affiliate business that helps brands promote their products and services by working with live streamers. It currently works with a number of igaming operators, including Casumo, LeoVegas, William Hill’s Mr Green and Entain’s PartyCasino.
In her new role she has been tasked with optimising processes to nurture talent and innovation. She will also look to establish new strategy partnerships, and a sustainable growth strategy for the business.
“We believe that Cristina is the perfect person to enable Interactive Gaming Group to scale to the next level and become a leading power-player in the iGaming industry,” IGG said of Niculae’s appointment.
Niculae pointed out that the global live game streaming market generated revenue of $40bn in 2019, and is estimated to have reached $50bn in 2020. This is likely to increase rapidly between 2020 and 2027.
She said that with consumers increasingly migrating away from linear entertainment, technological advancements were creating an opportunity for early adopters to build “an exciting future” for the igaming industry.
“In the casino space, rapid digitalisation and increased competition between online casinos are creating a strong value proposition for what streaming communities have to offer,” she explained.
“Therefore, I feel inspired by the tremendous potential of Interactive Gaming Group to innovate and create long term value in this exciting space.”
