Danish esports organisation Astralis has announced a major change to its leadership team. Co-founder Nikolaj Nyholm will step down from his CEO position, with the company’s CFO Jakob Hansen taking up the role as interim CEO.
Nyholm was named CEO in January 2024 after Anders Hørsholt stepped down from the role. Whilst Nyholm will no longer be Astralis’ CEO, he will continue to support the company as a board member.
Nyholm entered the Counter-Strike esports scene when he co-founded RFRSH Entertainment back in 2016 when the company operated the BLAST Pro Circuit. RFRSH was also the owner of esports teams Astralis and Origen before the newly created Astralis Group split from the company in 2019. Following the split, Nyholm took the role of CEO. Towards the end of 2021, he also co-founded the gaming studio Scattershot.
His replacement, Jakob Hansen, has over two decades of experience in managing companies’ finances, having worked as a financial analyst and covering executive roles for various companies in Denmark, including fitness chain Fitness DK. Hansen joined Astralis in October 2019, working as its CFO ever since.
One of the most notable esports organisations in Europe, Astralis is known for its endeavours in Counter-Strike and for becoming an early adopter of the publicly-listed esports company model, joining the NASDAQ First North Growth Markets when the group was formed. The company, however, was delisted last year due to its declining share price.
The company previously owned a franchise slot in the League of Legends EMEA Championship before its subsidiary AK-Game SAS sold a majority of the stakes to French organisation Karmine Corp.
In March 2024, the company published its 2023 financials, recording a positive EBITDA of DKK 146.7m (~£16.8m), marking a substantial increase from 2022 (DKK 2.5m, ~£300,000). The revenues generated by the company in 2023 was DKK 72.3m (~£8.3m), with a profit before tax of DKK 137m (~£15.7m).
