Mr. Joel Simkins is the CEO & Founder of XST Capital Group LLC (“XST” or the “Company”) and brings a reputation for trusted industry insights, market relationships, and a rare track record of success advising both sell-side and buy-side clients for more than 25 years across the land-based and digital gaming (casino) industries.

XST Capital Group was founded in 2024 and is focused on serving rapidly growing companies across the digital gaming industry offering M&A advice, capital raising solutions, and strategy (ex: corporate development). The Company’s approach seeks to harness the power of its broad network of strategic & institutional investor relationships along with deep industry thought leadership & insights to help clients expand their businesses.

Prior to his recent tenure at Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Simkins was Head of Gaming & Leisure investment banking at Truist Securities, growing its business from a nascent state in 2016 to a top-seven platform during his tenure through March 2022. He was the only sector coverage banker with experience in sell-side debt/equity research and buy-side investment management and one of a few successful former analysts to convert. Earlier, Mr. Simkins worked for Credit Suisse Securities, Macquarie Capital, and Deutsche Bank Securities.

Before his career pivot, Mr. Simkins was an equity research analyst known for bold and correct stock picks, deep industry expertise, and substantial connectivity. He was named Best Up & Coming Analyst in the 2009 Institutional Investor Poll and subsequently ranked No. 6 overall in 2012. A highly recognized and respected voice in the industry, Mr. Simkins has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and Yahoo Finance and is a regular featured speaker at many industry conferences and on other media outlets.

Mr. Simkins earned a B.B.A. in Banking and Finance, with highest Honors, from Hofstra University, where he sits on the business school advisory board. He is an outdoors enthusiast and also sits on the advisory board of Protect Our Winters, a climate advocacy foundation.

Mr. Simkins is a 6-time marathon finisher, avid yoga practitioner, and competitive tennis player. He lives in Madison, NJ with his wife and two children Josh and Juli.

Mr. Simkins holds Series 7, 63, 79, 86, and 87 registrations with FINRA.

Mr. Bryce Littell is a Vice President at XST Capital Group LLC.

XST Capital Group was founded in 2024 and is focused on serving rapidly growing companies across the digital gaming industry offering M&A advice, capital raising solutions, and strategy (ex: corporate development). The Company’s approach seeks to harness the power of its broad network of strategic & institutional investor relationships along with deep industry thought leadership & insights to help clients expand their businesses.

Prior to XST Capital Group, Mr. Littell was an investment banking associate at Jefferies in the Real Estate, Gaming, Lodging, and Leisure group. At Jefferies, he executed buy-side, sell-side, and private capital transactions. Before Jefferies, Mr. Littell was a strategy consultant where he focused on value creation initiatives for private equity portfolio companies.

Mr. Littell earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from the Ohio State University and is an MBA candidate at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Mr. Littell holds SIE, Series 63, and 79 registrations with FINRA.

Mr. Russell Kirschenbaum is a Vice President at XST Capital Group LLC.

XST Capital Group was founded in 2024 and is focused on serving rapidly growing companies across the digital gaming industry offering M&A advice, capital raising solutions, and strategy (ex: corporate development). The Company’s approach seeks to harness the power of its broad network of strategic & institutional investor relationships along with deep industry thought leadership & insights to help clients expand their businesses.

Before joining XST, Mr. Kirschenbaum worked as an Associate at Lincoln International, where he was responsible for facilitating and executing M&A transactions across the healthcare and technology industries. Before Lincoln, Mr. Kirschenbaum worked as a private equity investor at Regal Healthcare Capital Partners— a growth equity and buyout firm focused on lower middle market healthcare services companies—and also served as the Director of Operations at Family of Kidz, a private equity-backed provider of behavioral health services.

Mr. Kirschenbaum received a B.A. in Economics from Union College and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.

Mr. Kirschenbaum holds the Series 63 and 79 registrations with FINRA.

Mr. Andrew Berman is an Associate at XST Capital Group LLC.

XST Capital Group was founded in 2024 and is focused on serving rapidly growing companies across the digital gaming industry offering M&A advice, capital raising solutions, and strategy (ex: corporate development). The Company’s approach seeks to harness the power of its broad network of strategic & institutional investor relationships along with deep industry thought leadership & insights to help clients expand their businesses.

Before joining XST, Mr. Berman worked as an Analyst at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), where he was responsible for executing credit solutions across the Power & Utilities and Project Finance industries. While earning his undergraduate degree, Mr. Berman worked two stints as an intern at Stout working on esoteric debt valuations and solutions for investment funds.

Mr. Berman received a B.S. in Finance and Business Analytics from the University of Maryland – Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Mr. Berman holds the Series 63 and 79 registrations with FINRA.

Ms. Samantha Place is an Analyst at XST Capital Group LLC. 

XST Capital Group was founded in 2024 and is focused on serving rapidly growing companies across the digital gaming industry, offering M&A advice, capital raising solutions, and strategy (ex, corporate development). The Company’s approach seeks to harness the power of its broad network of strategic & institutional investor relationships, along with deep industry thought leadership & insights to help clients expand their businesses. 

Before joining XST, Ms. Place was at Hofstra University, earning her undergraduate degree, where she developed a strong foundation in analytical problem-solving and strategic thinking through her honors coursework and experience as a Teaching Assistant. 

Ms. Place received a B.B.A. in Accounting from the Rabinowitz Honors College at Hofstra University. 

Ms. Place holds the Series 63 and 79 registrations with FINRA. 

Mr. Maxwell Gover is the Managing Director at XST Capital Group LLC.

XST Capital Group was founded in 2024 and is focused on serving rapidly growing companies across the digital gaming industry, offering M&A advice, capital raising solutions, and strategy (ex, corporate development). The Company’s approach seeks to harness the power of its broad network of strategic & institutional investor relationships, along with deep industry thought leadership & insights to help clients expand their businesses. 

Mr. Gover is an accomplished investment banker and operator with more than 15 years of experience advising leading global companies and growth-stage innovators. He most recently served as Managing Director and Head of Emerging Media Investment Banking at Oppenheimer, where he led coverage of video games, digital media, sports, telecommunications, and associated technology platforms.

With deep experience across technology, media, and entertainment, Mr. Gover is recognized as a strategic advisor and skilled dealmaker, having advised on over $50 billion of completed transactions during his career. Prior to Oppenheimer, he held senior roles in Wells Fargo’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications group and Morgan Stanley’s Mergers & Acquisitions group.

In addition to his investment banking career, Mr. Gover was President and CEO of Sparkbox Toy Company, which was acquired by Pley, a Disney-backed startup. His unique blend of corporate finance expertise and operational leadership aligns closely with XST’s mission to deliver highly strategic advice tailored to the fast-evolving gaming ecosystem.

Mr. Gover earned his MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia, where he was awarded the William Michael Shermet Award for exceptional academic performance, and his BBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Gover holds SIE, Series 63 and 79 registrations with FINRA.