James Dean is the founder and CEO of the ESL UK subsidiary, building the ESL brand and community on a regional level. He leads the consortia developing the Audience of the Future Esports Demonstrator ‘Weavr’, funded by UKRI.

James’ career began writing for UK’s largest computer magazine while studying for a Degree in Computer Science. After graduating, he managed the PC division of a well-known computer retailer in the UK and later launched a gaming brand of PCs.

In 2006, James founded a sales, marketing and PR company specialising in services for the IT and gaming industry. Within 3 years, the agency was generating over £5m annual revenues for various gaming brands including SteelSeries. This shaped the foundation of the ESL UK franchise. ESL is the world’s largest esports company with offices worldwide. It operates the UK’s longest running national esports tournament, the ESL Premiership, currently spanning 4 gaming titles.