BLAST has appointed Charlie Cowdrey as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JioBLAST, the joint venture between the tournament organiser and RISE.
Cowdrey has transitioned to his new role after serving one year and seven months as BLAST’s Program Director for Fortnite and Rocket League.
As the new CEO of JioBLAST, Cowdrey will relocate from London to Mumbai in September to spearhead the venture’s Indian operations. The appointment follows BLAST partnering with RISE in April as part of its global expansion.
As part of the expansion into India, BLAST has opened a state-of-the-art production studio along with new offices. JioBLAST will offer a range of esports services, including tournament operations, marketing and broadcasting.
“I’m incredibly honoured and excited to take this role in spearheading JioBLAST,” said Cowdrey. “We will be focusing on bringing together Jio’s unrivalled reach, RISE’s commercial prowess and BLAST’s esports expertise and global publisher relationships.
“Bringing this all together, there is no doubt that JioBLAST will supercharge the Indian esports industry.”
Following the launch of JioBLAST, the venture has also begun recruitment for six roles based in Mumbai. The new hires will assist Cowdrey in ‘building the future of esports and competitive entertainment in India.’
BLAST’s Global Expansion in 2025
India isn’t the only market BLAST has expanded into in 2025. In May, the organiser revealed a major expansion into the United States with the opening of a new office in New York City.
Over the year, it will host five events in the country, including the successful Counter-Strike 2 Austin Major in Texas and the Fortnite Pro-Am, which took place in Los Angeles, California.
In addition to projects in India and the United States, Europe remains a hotbed of activity. In September, the world championships for Fortnite and Rocket League will take place in Lyon, France, across back-to-back weekends in September.
