XSET Co-Founder Marco Mereu officially announced on Friday that he left the organization in August. Issues related to Mereu’s status as chief operating officer first came to light in early-September when XSET CEO and fellow Co-Founder Greg Selkoe announced that the organization had promoted Chief Merchandising Officer Steve Birkhold to Mereu’s job, but didn’t mention him (Mereu) by name in the announcement—a clear indication that there was some internal tension between the founding members of the organization.
All of the current and former executives we reached out to since that announcement have declined to comment on the situation.
In a social media post on Friday, Mereu praised XSET employees, players, and fans for their hard work and dedication in helping to grow the organization over the last two years:
“A little over two years after co-founding one of the fastest growing organizations in esports I am proud of the work we did and the success of our many talented esports teams and creators who make the brand so special. XSET was a labor of love and I wish them the best in the future.
I wanted to also take a moment to say how proud I am of the many employees and team members at XSET for elevating their work above and beyond what was expected and being the catalyst for our success. Will miss working with many of them.
To every player who has worn an XSET jersey I wanted to say thank you for coming along on this ride. Many of you have become lifelong friends and I will always be here to support you and watch you compete.“
Mereu did not specifically address why he was leaving the organization in his statement or what he planned to do next, but (as far as we know) continues to be a stakeholder in XSET.