Board & Management

Julian brings over 20 years finance and investment industry experience to the IXUP Board, having spent almost two-thirds of his career as a key member of the portfolio and leadership team of one of Australia’s most successful hedge funds, Regal Funds Management (Regal).

Julian undertook a range of roles during his tenure at Regal, including Analyst & Portfolio Manager and Head of Australian Equities, and was responsible for investments across a range of sectors, in both listed and unlisted companies. He brings a unique set of skills to the IXUP board, possessing a deep and trusted network spanning the Australian financial industry, as well as a depth of experience in investing and funding high growth companies.

Julian holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Monash University, among other qualifications. He is also currently a director of several public and private Australian companies in various high growths sectors.

Ian is a highly experienced board member and global executive who has achieved a successful career focusing on international gaming, technology, leisure and sporting industries. In these roles, Ian has consistently fostered innovation and added to shareholder value, while never losing sight of the importance of maintaining high standards of corporate governance.

Ian’s current roles include Chairman of DataPOWA (acquired by IXUP in 2021), Senior Independent Director of Playtech plc, Non-Executive Director of Weatherbys Limited and Senior adviser to Low 6 Limited. He had previously been the Chief Executive Officer for two decades of two significant London listed international gaming, technology and sporting organisations, Sportech Plc and Arena Leisure Plc. In January 2022, he retired as Chairman of England’s National Football Museum.

Ian has a Bachelor of Science (Management Sciences) from the University of Manchester. He has been licensed by regulators in several countries and is also a Chartered Accountant.

Freya is currently the General Counsel and Company Secretary for Claim Central Consolidated, an Australian headquartered global Insurtech. Prior to joining Claim Central Consolidated Freya was the Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary for OFX Group Limited, an ASX listed global payments company. Both as a practising lawyer and Company Secretary, Freya has counselled many of Australia’s leading and emerging companies on a number of significant matters of ethics, compliance, corporate governance and risk and reputation management.

Freya holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), a Master of Laws (High Distinction) and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance from the Governance Institute of Australia. Freya is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors; a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel; and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Julian brings over 20 years finance and investment industry experience to the IXUP Board, having spent almost two-thirds of his career as a key member of the portfolio and leadership team of one of Australia’s most successful hedge funds, Regal Funds Management (Regal).

Julian undertook a range of roles during his tenure at Regal, including Analyst & Portfolio Manager and Head of Australian Equities, and was responsible for investments across a range of sectors, in both listed and unlisted companies. He brings a unique set of skills to the IXUP board, possessing a deep and trusted network spanning the Australian financial industry, as well as a depth of experience in investing and funding high growth companies.

Julian holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Monash University, among other qualifications. He is also currently a director of several public and private Australian companies in various high growths sectors.

Ian is a highly experienced board member and global executive who has achieved a successful career focusing on international gaming, technology, leisure and sporting industries. In these roles, Ian has consistently fostered innovation and added to shareholder value, while never losing sight of the importance of maintaining high standards of corporate governance.

Ian’s current roles include Chairman of DataPOWA (acquired by IXUP in 2021), Senior Independent Director of Playtech plc, Non-Executive Director of Weatherbys Limited and Senior adviser to Low 6 Limited. He had previously been the Chief Executive Officer for two decades of two significant London listed international gaming, technology and sporting organisations, Sportech Plc and Arena Leisure Plc. In January 2022, he retired as Chairman of England’s National Football Museum.

Ian has a Bachelor of Science (Management Sciences) from the University of Manchester. He has been licensed by regulators in several countries and is also a Chartered Accountant.

Jonathan comes to the IXUP advisory committee backed by over two decades of advisory expertise. His wide-ranging experience encompasses areas such as debt and equity capital raisings, IPOs, private placements, entitlement issue underwriting, seed raisings, debt facilities, convertible note raisings, and corporate advisory. His proficiency extends to mergers and acquisitions, reverse takeovers, as well as assisting start-ups and mid-cap firms.

Beyond his involvement with IXUP, Jonathan is a founder of Cygnet Capital, a specialized Australian firm that delivers corporate advisory, capital raising services, corporate mentorship, and board representation. At Cygnet, Jonathan spearheads a team of committed professionals who offer brokerage and research services to institutional and retail investors aiming for high-growth investment opportunities in emerging companies within the Australian equities market. With his extensive experience and successful history in investing and financing high-growth companies, Jonathan brings an unparalleled depth of knowledge to his roles.

Warren Steven has 30 years’ experience in digital entertainment industry, the last two decades being focused on the online gaming industry. Over this time Warren has accumulated experience working for European and US operators in a number of countries and jurisdictions across multiple disciplines including executive leadership, commercial P&L, business operations, revenue operations, product management, , product development, acquisition marketing and compliance.

Warren was part of the leadership team at Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) to launch its operations in 2013 and delivered an multi award-winning brand to the US online gaming industry. Since launching in NJ, GNOG has gone on to launch its own live dealer studio (B2C/B2B), retail and online sports betting, and expand its operations into multiple US states. GNOG Inc.

Before joining IXUP, Warren was involved in the successful reverse SPAC merger with Landcadia Holdings II, which took GNOG public in Dec 2021 , and delivered on the successful sale of GNOG to DraftKings in May 2022.

Matthew has over 25 year’s experience in the Technology and Media Industry,

C-level executive with strategic and operational experience for technology-driven, public and private companies. Demonstrated success in high growth businesses and turnarounds. Function effectively at strategic and tactical levels. Trusted business partner and advisor to CEOs, boards of directors and executive management.

Deliver financial leadership through extensive experience in finance and administration, strategy, accounting and financial reporting, business and financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, investor relations, risk management and business systems.

Invaluable relationships and network across ANZ with over 25 completed transactions (M&A, IPO, Financings).

Matthew is a member of Chartered Accountants ANZ.

With more than 15 years’ experience in large transformation programs that deliver complete enterprise business end-to-end solutions, Paul is the IT strategist at the helm of the IXUP technology platform.

Paul was previously Chief Information Officer of Corum Group Limited, where he led an innovative transformation of legacy applications into modern, high-performing systems. Prior to this, Paul held senior roles at PBL Media and Think Software Pty Ltd helping the teams to lead the successful execution and delivery of several large-scale projects.

Paul has a Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computer Science.