Fnatic appoints Stuart Brown as esports operations lead

Esports performance organisation Fnatic, has appointed Stuart Brown as its first-ever esports operations lead, it announced on Thursday.

The role will see Mr Brown tasked with promoting best-in-class team management and see him act as a lynchpin between Fnatic’s London headquarters and teams across Fnatic’s six esports game titles.

Mr Brown is expected to bring a wealth of experience from the world of traditional sport, having spent 12 years at The FA.

Most recently, Brown led the England Senior Football squad as team manager, where he was responsible for all operational, financial and administrative matters relating to the team, including during the Russia World Cup and the recent Euro 2021 campaign.

During his time at The FA he also worked as part of the International Relations team, delivering football development projects in countries such as Rwanda.

He will look to enhance various aspects of professional gaming experience at Fnatic, from performance planning and nutrition to travel and accommodation.

Working to continue to integrate Fnatic’s esports teams within the wider organisation, he will oversee and enable collaboration with other business units such as product and partnerships.

“Fnatic are deeply committed to continuous improvement. I’m excited to bring my experience from the world of traditional sports and fuse that with the innovation and opportunity in the esports space - to find the extra 1 per center’s for Fnatic’s teams," said Mr Brown.

"I’m looking forward to continuing to professionalise Fnatic’s backroom functions and further integrating our esports teams with the wider company.”

He will also work closely with Fnatic’s high performance unit and team managers to continuously improve performance outcomes for teams and give the company's players the edge in competition.

Additionally, he will support the rollout of Fnatic’s recently released global safeguarding policies, which promote and protect the wellbeing of young people and adults at risk who interact with Fnatic.

“We’re very excited to have Stuart on board to play a key role in levelling up our operations as well as facilitating the drive for high-performance across our esports division," commented Sam Matthews, Fnatic's CEO.

"Having worked with elite national teams in football, Stuart’s experience will be invaluable to unlock another level of improvements, which builds on our work in the High Performance Unit. Stuart will also champion the roll-out of our player wellbeing initiatives and Global Safeguarding Policies.”