Skill-based Esports platform and entertainment company Gameskraft has announced its ambitions to scale for the future with strategic hires across its leadership over the past few months. The senior executives will further strengthen the company’s thought-leadership position in the industry, and their invaluable experience will be pivotal in ensuring smooth operations.
Vikas Taneja, Group CEO of Gameskraft, said, “With the immense growth the skill-based Esports industry is anticipating alongside increasing customer needs, our new hires bring to the market priceless capabilities, accelerating our strategy to provide the community with world-class experiences as the industry elevates to the next level. The new leadership will complement our business operations as we continue to prioritise safety, technology, and user experience.”
The hires include:
1. Chief Strategy Advisor to the Founders—Amrit Kiran Singh
2. Group General Counsel—Joyjyoti Misra
3. Chief Human Resources Officer—Nitin Nahata
4. Head, Organisational Resilience & REWS—Captain Shakil Ahmed
5. Head, Public Policy & Corporate Affairs—Chetan Sridhar More
6. Group Company Secretary & Head of Compliance—Vimal Chawla
7. Head, Corporate Communications & CSR—Rishi Wadhera
They will form a part of the core leadership group and steer the company in the next phase of its journey.
● Amrit Kiran Singh served as the CEO of Brown‑Forman, South Asia, for nearly two decades. He was the Executive Chairman of the International Spirits and Wines Association of India and the Vice Chairman of the World Spirits Alliance, Brussels. He has been India’s representative at WHO on the committee for minimising the negative impact of excessive alcohol consumption and was honoured with the title of “Keeper of the Quaich” by the First Minister of Scotland for helping further the boundaries of Scotch Whisky. He has been acknowledged for his accomplishments in the alcoholic beverage industry—particularly in bringing about an “industry-friendly” regulatory policy that has benefited both government and industry. Amrit was also the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce.
● Joyjyoti Misra joins Gameskraft from Uber, where he led a multiple-award-winning legal team for the entire South Asia region. Prior to his stint with Uber, Joyjyoti was a partner at one of India’s leading law firms—Khaitan & Co. He comes with plenty of experience in advising companies in multiple sectors (including technology, healthcare, education and non-profit); he has advised on marquee transactions, complex product launches, policy formulation and regulatory interaction, complex disputes, multi-jurisdictional M&A, and private equity transactions.
● Nitin Nahata is an accomplished HR leader and brings a wealth of experience gained across diverse industries such as financial services, consumer goods, and e-commerce. Most recently, he helped Udaan, the B2B e-commerce start-up, scale its HR function. He was part of the team that launched Starbucks in India and has had prior stints with Standard Chartered and HSBC. Nitin has successfully led employee engagement and shaped companies’ cultural identities to great effect.
● Capt. Shakil Ahmed is an army veteran with over 25 years of organisational resilience & brand risk management experience. He has successfully led the strategy, design & implementation of business resilience programs and frameworks across unicorns and global MNCs. An expert on brand assurance, intelligence & investigations, law enforcement engagement, crisis & business continuity management, and workplace services, he has held pivotal leadership roles at OLA, OYO, Amazon, Diageo, Pfizer, and TCS.
● Chetan Sridhar More was formerly associated with OYO, PVR, and Airtel. With nearly two decades of experience handling compliance, legal and corporate governance matters, Chetan’s strategy and nodal compliance knowledge have proven vital to maintaining coherent internal policies at his past workplaces.
● Vimal Chawla is backed by 20+ years of rich experience in corporate governance, regulatory, and legal matters. Formerly associated with reputed organisations such as OYO, Paytm, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance, Aviva India, and Aon Hewitt, Vimal was actively involved in setting up and managing corporate governance and compliance frameworks in the APAC region. He also handled IPO-related activities, investor funding rounds in unlisted start-up companies, TLB funding, FCCB and GDR issues, along with listing of entities on the India, Singapore, and Luxembourg stock exchanges.
● Rishi Wadhera joins after more than two decades of experience, with his most recent stint at Carlsberg, where he led the communications and media planning and buying mandate. In combination with his prior involvements in Avon and reputed advertising agencies like JWT and McCann Erickson, Rishi’s career has spanned numerous brands, helping highlight their public relevance. His communications experience, especially, has been vital to setting up companies’ communications departments and corporate voices.