London-based esports organisation Fnatic has appointed Julien Dupont to the role of Partner Development Director.
Dupont previously served as Head of Partnerships at Team Vitality beginning in 2019. In a LinkedIn post, Dupont said that Fnatic aims to grow its audience to ‘1B Fnatics’ in the future, ‘in which gaming is the driving force behind humanity’s creativity.’
RELATED: Fnatic add Patrick Foster and Georgina Workman to backroom staff
Prior to his time at Team Vitality, Dupont served as Head of Partnerships in Sports and Entertainment for French PR agency HOPSCOTCH Groupe and Partnership & Network Coordination Director at Havas Sports & Entertainment.
He has also worked as Head of Sales and Partnerships for Elite Model World.
Dupont said: “Our purpose at Fnatic is to seek out, level up and amplify every gamer on the planet. This is what we wish to achieve together.”
The move comes at a key time for Fnatic as it searches for a new main sponsor. The organisation joined forces with sports and entertainment agency SPORTFIVE in April to seek its first front-of-jersey sponsor in three years.
Smartphone manufacturer OneFive had been the organisation’s main partner until this year.
RELATED: Fnatic enters Middle East with Xcite retail partnership
Fnatic’s current partners include BMW, AMD, Monster Energy, Parimatch, Hisense, Jack Links, Anda Seat, Letou, and PC Specialist.
Esports Insider says: Dupont brings an interesting mix of traditional sports and lifestyle brand experience to Fnatic. Sponsorship dollars remain the top source of income for the esports industry, and it will be interesting to see who becomes Fnatic’s new jersey sponsor with Julien Dupont and SPORTFIVE leading the search.
