The advisory board of the esports player foundation is made up of eight experienced managers and experts from the worlds of business, esports, politics and sport. In addition to overseeing the management, it also monitors the spending of financial resources, which may only be spent in the interests of the sponsored players to the main tasks. To this end, the Advisory Board serves as an advisor on strategic issues and supports the development of networks and contacts.
The Chairman of the Advisory Board is Ralf Reichert (Chairman ESL FACEIT Group), his deputy is Hans Christian Lueneborg (Business Strategy Lead Esports at Riot Games).
Antje Hundhausen – Vice President Brand Experience at Deutsche Telekom – looks back on more than 25 years of professional experience in leading positions in the IT / telecommunications and tourism industry. A graduate in business administration, music and art, she heads the 3D Brand Experience division for Deutsche Telekom. She is also involved in the Equal Esports initiative for the advancement of women in gaming and esports.
Jörg Adami, born in 1969, is co-founder of the esports player foundation and was its managing director for four years. With 10 years of experience on the board of Deutsche Sporthilfe, he has in-depth expertise in talent development. He previously held various senior marketing positions, including as a board member at Julius Meinl Kaffee and as Head of Marketing at Deutsche Telekom.
Marco-Alexander Breit ist Leiter des Arbeitsstabs Künstliche Intelligenz und Digitale Technologien im Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie. Von 2008 bis 2014 hatte er verschiedene Positionen in der Staatskanzlei des Saarlandes inne, darunter Leiter des Büros des Chefs der Staatskanzlei und Ministers für Bund, Kultur und Medien sowie ab 2011 Leiter des Büros von Ministerpräsidentin Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Ab April 2014 war er als Persönlicher Referent des Chefs des Bundeskanzleramts und Bundesministers für besondere Aufgaben, Peter Altmaier, tätig. Von April 2018 bis Juli 2019 leitete er das Referat für Grundsätze der Digitalpolitik und Koordinierung im Bundeswirtschaftsministerium (BMWi). Seit August 2019 leitet er die Stabsstelle Künstliche Intelligenz im BMWi.
Michael Haenisch is the founder and CEO of Freaks 4U Gaming, one of the world’s leading gaming and esports agencies. The company was founded in 2002 and now has over 190 employees in 3 business units and 6 offices.
Ralf Wirsing has been with Ubisoft since 1997. After holding positions in product management, PR and business development, he headed what is now Ubisoft Blue Byte from 2004. In 2007, he took over responsibility for Ubisoft in Germany and the GSA region, first as General Manager and later as Managing Director. Ralf Wirisng has been involved at the association level since 2016, when he was elected to the board of the BIU. After the merger of the German games associations into game, Wirsing took over the chairmanship of the new association and is also a member of the board four years and two elections later.
Karsten Petry has been with Deutsche Sporthilfe since January 2021, and in November he was promoted to Chief Marketing and Sales Officer. The foundation has already supported around 53,000 athletes since it was established in 1967. Its track record is impressive: 270 gold medals at the Olympic Games and 358 gold medals at the Paralympics.
Hans began his esports journey in the late 90s with Quake and StarCraft. What started as a hobby became his profession. Over the last 20 years, Hans has worked across all areas of esports. He served as Head of Esports at FC Schalke 04 and led the EU business unit for Splyce (now Mad Lions). Since 2018, Hans has held leadership roles at Riot Games: He was responsible for creating the Prime League, managing Russian and Turkish esports operations, and currently leads the business strategy for all esports in EMEA.
Ralf Reichert has shaped the development of global Esports like hardly anyone else. He has been active in gaming and Esports for over 20 years, making him a true pioneer. In 1997 he founded SK Gaming and in 2000 the ESL (Electronic Sports League). Today he is Chairman of ESL FACEIT Group.
Felix has been managing director of game since February 1, 2018. He previously held the same position at BIU, where he helped implement the merger with GAME. From 2009 to 2016, Felix was managing director of the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK).
Evangelos Papathanassiou has been a freelance digital strategy consultant for media and sport for 13 years. His clients include FIFA, UEFA, DFL, Bayern Munich and ESL in the sports sector and RTL, ProSieben, Sport1 and others in the media sector. He has been active in the digital economy for over 20 years and was, among other things, Head of Innovation Strategy at Deutsche Telekom. Together with Jörg Adami, he founded the esports player foundation.