Wim Stocks, formerly the CEO and Chairman of CSL Esports, has joined gaming-arena developer Belong, a subsidiary of Vindex, as its Senior Vice President of Partnerships & Commercial.
RELATED: Vindex reportedly set to acquire GAME’s Belong
Stocks joins the company after recently announcing he would be stepping down from his role at WorldGaming Network and Collegiate Starleague (now CSL Esports). At Belong he will oversee all elements of endemic and non-endemic partnerships.
“We are delighted to welcome Wim with his considerable experience across the gaming and esports industry to our team,” said Belong CEO Martyn Gibbs. “Wim will be leading our partnership strategy and engagement that will build great experiences for customers and fans alike as we establish our identity in the US and internationally.”
The acquisition sees Vindex continue to bolster its leadership team following the acquisition of Belong from UK-based GAME in July. Vindex previously announced that it has plans to develop 500 Belong stores in the US and a further 1000 in other countries, investing $300m (~£219.65m) over five years.
Vindex was founded by MLG co-founders Mike Sepso and Sundance DiGiovanni, launching with $60m (~£43.93m) of investment following a successful Series A round.
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Stocks was named CEO of WorldGaming and Collegiate StarLeague in 2016 after WorldGaming was acquired by Cineplex. In November the two companies’ assets were merged by Playfly Sports, forming CSL Esports.
Esports Insider says: Wim Stocks is a great acquisition for Belong. He’s been in positions of leadership in the space for 11 years at WorldGaming and Collegiate StarLeague, and this is another sign of Vindex’s intent after several notable moves in 2020.