Sep 2022 – Jan 2024 · 1 yr 4 mos · Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

• With the merger between ESL and Faceit I moved to a board and advisory role

Apr 2020 – Jun 2025 · 5 yrs 2 mos · Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Jun 2018 – Mar 2022 · 3 yrs 9 mos · Düsseldorf Area, Germany

May 2018 – Aug 2022 · 4 yrs 3 mos

• “Where everybody can be somebody” captured what ESL stood for at that stage as we had grown into the world’s largest independent esports company with a truly global footprint across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. At its core, ESL was about creating the stages for competition at every level, from grassroots amateur cups and matchmaking systems to the biggest international leagues and tournaments like Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL Pro League, and national championships around the world. Through a combination of world-class studios, daily broadcasts, and large-scale live events in arenas, stadiums, and global trade shows, we focused on turning competitive gaming into a consistent, professional, and globally accessible sport, creating moments that defined esports for a generation.

Dec 2000 – Apr 2018 · 17 yrs 4 mos

• From zero to hero, we started in 2000 with a simple belief that video games would become mainstream and that competition around them would turn into a real sport. What followed was a true build-from-scratch journey, creating structures, formats, and an ecosystem where none existed, learning by doing and constantly adapting as the industry took shape. Over time, we helped define the category and grew into a global leader in what is now esports.

Feb 2018 – Jan 2024 · 5 yrs 11 mos · Cologne Area, Germany · Hybrid

Mar 2016 – Dec 2022 · 6 yrs 9 mos · Zug, Switzerland

Oct 2014 – Sep 2020 · 5 yrs 11 mos · Cologne Area, Germany

Jan 2006 – Oct 2007 · 1 yr 9 mos

Jul 1997 – Jul 2001 · 4 yrs · Oberhausen

• SK Gaming was founded in 1997, at a time when the internet was still new and online gaming was only beginning to take shape. Together with my brothers Tim and Benjamin, we built a team across borders long before remote organizations were a thing, driven purely by passion and curiosity. My own path went from player to builder, competing as “Griff” in some of the biggest international tournaments of that era with a few notable results. What we were doing back then was constant learning by doing, figuring things out as we went and turning a shared hobby into a business. Fun was always at the center, and from that an identity emerged that continues to live on in esports today.

Oct 1991 – Oct 2000 · 9 yrs · Duisburg

• This role ran in parallel to my university studies and became my first real exposure to how businesses operate end to end. I joined as a trainee and rotated through Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Logistics, and Finance, before gradually taking on operational responsibility while still a student. I then led the BMW Quality Management pilot project for our dealership, working directly with the Managing Director as part of an early initiative across a small group of BMW stores. This was at a time when digital process management was just emerging and much of the work still relied on manual tracking and coordination. It was a hands-on learning phase that made one thing very clear: processes only scale when they are system-driven, not people-dependent, a principle that has shaped how I think about building organizations ever since.