SYNOT Group has appointed Katarína Polách Klčovská as its Chief Executive Officer, a newly created position at the Czech gaming and technology group effective from 1 May 2026. The role was created by founder and owner Ivo Valenta, who has held ultimate control of the business since setting it up with his father and brother in 1991.
Polách Klčovská has been with SYNOT for more than 13 years, having joined in 2012. In the new post she takes responsibility for the group’s day-to-day management, the delivery of strategic objectives set by the shareholder, and the group’s positioning in domestic and international markets. Until now SYNOT had no single chief executive, with strategic direction sitting with Valenta as owner.
A new layer in SYNOT’s management structure
The CEO role is an addition to the group’s governance rather than a replacement of an existing officer. SYNOT operates in more than 40 countries and employs around 3,500 people across land-based and online gaming, spanning slot machines, gaming systems, platform technology and online content. Creating a group chief executive gives that structure a single operational lead below the owner for the first time.
“Effective from 1 May 2026, SYNOT Group has established the new key position of Chief Executive Officer. I have appointed Ing. Katarína Polách Klčovská to this role. I am confident that she will bring extensive experience gained during more than thirteen years within the Group,” Valenta said.
“Throughout her career at SYNOT, she has held numerous specialist and management positions and has actively participated in the implementation of strategic projects across the Group. Her professional expertise, long-standing experience and in-depth understanding of the Group’s operations make her the natural choice for this position.”
From Synot Games CFO to group CEO
Polách Klčovská’s most recent role was Chief Financial Officer of Synot Games, the group’s online content arm, which develops slots and table games for the iGaming market. She has more than 14 years of experience in corporate finance, strategic management and the building of international business structures.
In that finance role she worked on the group’s organisational structures, its international expansion and strategic projects across several jurisdictions. She previously oversaw SYNOT’s activities across Central and Southeastern Europe and led the development of newly established business structures in the United States, where the group has been building out its presence.
Priorities: international reach, digital and M&A
Polách Klčovská said her focus would be on extending the group’s international footprint and its digital operations, and she named acquisitions as one route to growth.
“I greatly appreciate the trust that has been placed in me. Today, SYNOT stands on solid foundations, and my goal is to continue building on them while responding to the rapid technological developments shaping not only our core industries,” she said.
“Delivering on the shareholder’s strategic objectives remains my highest priority. I am committed to further strengthening the SYNOT brand, enhancing the Group’s international position and creating the conditions for its sustainable long-term growth, whether through the dedicated work of our teams, the effective use of modern technologies, M&A activities or potential optimisation. At the heart of this approach will be disciplined performance management, growth in key indicators and systematic capital creation.”
The reference to M&A and to “optimisation” points to a more active corporate agenda than SYNOT, a privately held group that does not report public financials, has typically signalled. Central and Eastern European suppliers have been part of a wider round of consolidation in the sector, with deals such as Greentube’s acquisition of Kingsbet CZ marking new entries into the Czech market. Synot Games competes among the mid-tier content suppliers tracked in rankings of the top B2B gambling suppliers by revenue.
What happens next
The immediate test is whether a formalised chief executive changes how quickly SYNOT moves on the US expansion and any acquisition activity Polách Klčovská has flagged. With the owner retaining strategic control and the CEO handling delivery, the split of authority between Valenta and his new chief executive will shape how far she can push the agenda she has set out. The appointment adds to a run of senior leadership changes across the industry as suppliers restructure for tighter margins and cross-border growth.
Source: SYNOT Group
