Fnatic bolsters leadership team with four new hires

European esports organisation Fnatic has looked to strengthen its leadership team by appointing four new personnel. 

The organisation announced that Craig Edmondson (ex-Premier League) and Nicola Packer (formerly of Dyson) will take over as CCO and General Counsel, respectively. Moreover, Joshua Brill has been named Head of Legal, with Laura Ashworth-Cape joining the organisation as its new Head of Marketing.

Image credit: Fnatic

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The four new Fnatic team members all have extensive experience in professional football, marketing, entertainment, and esports. According to the release, the new hires will help the organisation ‘take advantage of some of the exciting commercial opportunities emerging’.

Fnatic’s new Chief Commercial Officer, Craig Edmondson, is perhaps the most-known new figure in the organisation. Having spent 14 years at the Premier League and tech company Zwift, Edmondson will be tasked with planning and executing commercial strategies.

On his new role, Edmondson commented: “Fnatic is one of the most forward-thinking brands in gaming and I’m thrilled to be joining the organisation at a very exciting time to help take the team’s business offerings to new heights. There is huge room for growth within the industry and Fnatic is primed to take advantage of some of the emerging opportunities and markets within the digital space.”

Alongside Edmondson, Fnatic’s legal team has been bolstered by Nicola Packer, the organisation’s new General Counsel. Packer worked for Dyson and EXTREME in the past and has diverse experience in gaming, esports and technology. The second addition to the legal team is Laura Asworth-Cape, who joins Fnatic after a four-year stint at Arsenal FC as the club’s Legal Counsel.

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Lastly, Viacom CBS’ former Head of Creative and Commercials, Joshua Brill, joins Fnatic as its new Head of Marketing. Brill worked on strategies for MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and others. According to Fnatic, Brill will look to build on the rapid growth of Fnatic’s youth-focused audience.

Fnatic announced that the organisation recorded a 400 per cent increase in digital growth in 2021. Moreover, the company plans to expand its Web3 business strategy in the coming months. 

Sam Mathews, CEO at Fnatic, concluded: “Fnatic has just experienced one of its biggest years of digital growth to date and we want to ensure we continue building on our recent success.

“Each of our four new hires brings a vast amount of experience with them that will provide our team with the expertise to level up our offering, helping us navigate some of the most innovative and engaging initiatives we’ve ever undertaken.”

Esports Insider says: The four new Fnatic team members are all experts in their fields and are definitely statement hires by the UK-born brand. Fnatic is looking to be viewed as more than an esports brand, and the new executives should help guide Fnatic in that journey.