ESL Veteran Niels Wolter Joins NODWIN Gaming

Longtime ESL Gaming executive Niels Wolter joins NODWIN Gaming

India-based tournament operator and gaming festival company NODWIN Gaming announced Friday that longtime ESL FACEIT Group executive Niels Wolter has been appointed to the role of chief integration officer.

In his new role, Wolter will help NODWIN “ensure seamless integration of the company’s subsidiaries by optimizing collaboration and synergies among the founders of companies across the network,” according to a release. Wolter will report directly to the executive team at NODWIN. 

His new role is also an important part of NODWIN’s expansion into Europe and into new formats as part of its investment in Germany-based esports marketing agency Freaks 4U Gaming. On Wednesday, Freaks 4U announced an equity investment of €8M EUR ($8.67M USD) from NODWIN. As part of that transaction, NODWIN and Freaks 4U agreed to utilize resources such as personnel, equipment, and facilities in each other’s key territories. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Niels for over a decade now,” Akshat Rathee, co-founder of NODWIN Gaming said in a release. “During his time at our long-term partner ESL FACEIT GROUP, Niels has been my personal contact, and together, we built a local market and realized impactful projects such as the recent DreamHack India. I am incredibly excited about Niels joining us at this transformative time for our industry and our business. His expertise will ensure cultural and organizational alignment during future and existing acquisitions.”

“I’m excited to leverage my two decades of esports and gaming experience with NODWIN, laying the groundwork for future collaborations,” Niels Wolter said in a release. “I have always been passionate about fostering the growth of esports and I am convinced that with NODWIN, we can further develop the ecosystem in Asia and beyond.”

Before joining NODWIN in this new role, Wolter spent more than 18 years at ESL Gaming in various executive roles. He joined the company in February 2006 (then owned by Turtle Entertainment) as vice director – international partner management.  More recently, he took on the role of managing director of ESL Gaming Espana, and in 2021 took on the role of managing director of ESL Gaming France. In 2022, ESL Gaming was merged with esports tournament platform FACEIT to create ESL FACEIT Group as part of an acquisition by the Saudi Arabian government’s wholly owned gaming company Savvy Games Group.

Editor’s note: We corrected some details on Wolter’s lengthy career at ESL.