Considerations: Building Teams that Move Mountains

Join us for the fourth edition of Considerations, a collection of thematic reports from XST Capital Group’s senior advisors, designed to provide actionable insights on timely industry topics. In this edition, Senior Advisor Dean Ehrlich shares hard-earned lessons from more than three decades leading high-growth gaming equipment and technology businesses.

Dean argues that sustained outperformance is ultimately rooted in culture, alignment, and disciplined execution. Drawing on his leadership experience at Anchor Gaming, WMS Industries, and Everi Holdings, he outlines how exceptional teams are built, and why subtle organizational behaviors often determine whether companies become market leaders.

From disrupting stale slot floors in the 1990s to scaling global gaming operations against entrenched incumbents, Dean walks through the real-world playbook behind meaningful share gains. He reflects on building creative, accountable teams at Anchor, embedding innovation and radical transparency into WMS’s cultural DNA, and driving cross-functional alignment at Everi to grow ship share from low single digits into a durable competitive position.

This piece offers practical insight for founders, executives, investors, and operators navigating today’s digital gaming landscape. As consolidation accelerates and competition intensifies, the companies that move mountains will not simply have better products, they will have better teams, clearer purpose, and cultures built for resilience.

We believe Dean’s perspective is both timely and essential as the industry enters its next phase of growth and institutionalization. We hope you enjoy the read. Stay tuned for future editions of Considerations covering other prominent topics across the gaming and digital media ecosystem. Thanks for joining us and please feel free to reach out to us if you have any feedback.

Read the full report here: Considerations