eSports
Former HelloFresh Founding Member and VP of Operations & Product appointed as Skrmiish CEO
Luke Grob, the former HelloFresh founding member and VP of Operations & Product, has been appointed as Skrmiish’s Chief Executive Officer.
As a business strategy and operations expert who specialises in early-stage business growth, Grob has been appointed to lead the company’s ambitious growth targets, starting with global launch of the Skrmiish app in January 2021.
Speaking about his new role, Grob said: “I’ve spent much of my career working with high growth companies with large addressable markets and the potential of Skrmiish is enormous. The explosion in gaming is well documented and Skrmiish is perfectly positioned to be a genuine disruptor in the space. I am looking forward to working with the team to make Skrmiish a powerhouse in the global competitive gaming space.”
Grob’s commitment to scaling companies with big ambitions stems from an innate passion about understanding the numbers that drive ventures.
Grob joined Rocket Internet in 2012 and took a leading position in the HelloFresh UK founding team, holding multiple roles including the Director of Global Operations and VP of Growth & Innovation, supporting its growth from infancy to Europe’s fastest growing business (FT 2017), expanding the team exponentially and seeing turnover move from single digits to +£300M in less than three years, before a successful IPO (ETR:HFG) in year six. HelloFresh is now valued at over $11B.
He went onto become Head of Growth at REEF Technology (Backed by Softbank Vision Fund) which pioneered the transformation of underutilized urban spaces and Dark Kitchen Industry, scaling their early operations across the UK and US and helping securing a +$950M investment to fuel growth in the US. Over the past three years Grob has been a mentor at Techstars, is an advisory board member to multiple early-stage businesses as well as EMEA Expansion and Growth Consultant at TemperPack.
Grob is a champion at driving big business growth in prospering industries and believes that Skrmiish is one such venture.
Chris Heaton, co-founder of Skrmiish had this to say about Grob’s appointment: “I am thrilled and proud to be able to welcome Luke to the company. He is someone with a proven track record of helping companies in early-stage growth go on to become phenomenal success stories. Having Luke at the helm with his exceptional experience and expertise will ensure we set out and deliver on our ambitious growth plan through 2021 and beyond. His arrival is quite the coup for Skrmiish and signals our intention to become a global name in gaming.”
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eSports
Revolut unveiled as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final at London’s OVO Arena Wembley
Esport entertainment company BLAST has revealed the global financial technology company Revolut as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final, ahead of Counter-Strike’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom in the summer.
The partnership with BLAST is Revolut’s first foray into esports – an industry known for its next-level global entertainment and world-class experiences. It is part of the fintech’s strategy to provide unique experiences to a global audience of tech-savvy gamers.
With more than 40 million customers worldwide in 38 countries, Revolut’s popular online banking platform aims to revolutionise the way people spend, send, save and interact with money.
Revolut comes on board as the Official Finance and Payments Partner of the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which is due to take place at London’s OVO Arena Wembley from 12-16 June. Revolut will feature heavily across the event, with both digital broadcast integration across BLAST.tv, Twitch and YouTube, with dedicated Revolut broadcast segments and physical branding and activations at the arena.
The Spring Final 2024 will be the biggest Counter-Strike event to take place in the United Kingdom since the London Major 2018, which took place in the OVO Arena Wembley and saw Danish organisation Astralis crowned champions.
Fans online will enjoy an economy focussed broadcast segment as well as a bespoke giveaway with fantastic prizes. Revolut will be kicking off the Spring Final action with an opening party on Friday, 14th June. A Revolut booth on-site will allow fans to sign up to exclusive discounts for Revolut customers and exclusive perks including queue skip for meet and greets with professional esports players.
Alexander Lewin, SVP, Commercial Revenue at BLAST said: “We’re thrilled to mark the historic return of CS arena events to the UK with a groundbreaking presenting partnership. Revolut has been at the forefront of digital banking and financial innovation for nearly a decade, and shares BLAST’s dedication to creating fantastic experiences for fans and customers. As presenting partner, Revolut will feature prominently across our entire broadcast and arena experience, and we look forward to incorporating their innovative digital-first approach. This partnership is testament to the value esports can bring to a leading global brand, and we are delighted Revolut has chosen BLAST for their first entry into competitive gaming.”
Deborah Wajsbrot, Head of Growth – Strategic Partnerships & Sponsorships at Revolut, said: “We’re delighted to be able to unveil Revolut’s marketing partnership with BLAST – our first in esports. BLAST is a world-class esports tournament and an iconic event for the gaming community. Just like Revolut, the gaming industry is at the forefront of innovation worldwide. This partnership is the beginning of our efforts to bring unique and unforgettable experiences to Revolut customers and gaming fans – not just at Wembley, but worldwide.”
The BLAST Premier Spring Final gets underway on Wednesday, 12th June, with eight of Counter-Strike’s best teams descending on the UK’s capital to battle for a total prize pool of $425,000. The winning team will qualify for the BLAST Premier World Final later this year.
Participating teams: Astralis, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, SAW, Virtus.pro, Team Spirit and Team Vitality.
The post Revolut unveiled as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final at London’s OVO Arena Wembley appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
eSports
Abios names co-founder Anton Janér as new Managing Director
Abios, the esports subsidiary of Kambi Group plc, has appointed CTO Anton Janér as its new Managing Director, succeeding Abios’ long-term CEO Oskar Bonnevier Fröberg who has stepped down to pursue new endeavours.
Having co-founded the company alongside Fröberg in 2013, Janér assumed leadership of Abios as Managing Director effective from 1 May. He brings extensive experience in technology to his new role, as well as a deep understanding of the esports market, and as CTO was instrumental in the development of Abios’ market-leading esports solutions.
Spearheaded by Fröberg for more than 10 years, Abios has witnessed incredible growth since launch, expanding the company to reach millions of esports fans, power scores of businesses in esports, media, betting, and entertainment sectors, and employ roughly 70 people worldwide.
Furthermore, Fröberg successfully navigated Abios through its acquisition by Kambi Group, a leading sports betting technology company, in 2021. Bonnevier Fröberg played a pivotal role in ensuring a smooth integration within the Kambi Group, further solidifying Abios’ position within the esports betting landscape.
Janér said: “I am honored to take on the role of Managing Director and lead Abios into its next chapter. Oskar and I have had a lot of fun together throughout the years at Abios, building the company into the industry leader it is today. I am very excited about the future of Abios and eager to take the business to new heights alongside our excellent team.”
Fröberg added: “It is with mixed emotions that I have resigned as CEO of Abios. This decision has not been an easy one, as I have dedicated more than 10 years of my life to building and leading this organisation together with Anton. However, we could not have found a better home for Abios than Kambi nor could I have found a better successor than Anton, giving me every confidence that Abios will only flourish moving forward.”
The post Abios names co-founder Anton Janér as new Managing Director appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Angela Bernhard Thomas
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