Frank Kowalski, the German athletics executive who headed up the organising committee for Berlin’s 2018 IAAF World Athletics Championships, has become the managing director of Ally4Ever Event, the German esports events company that organises esports’ new Global Masters festival.
The 55-year-old (pictured), who joined the German athletics federation (DLV) in 1997, took up the new role this month.
Kowalski was head of Deutsche Leichtathletik Marketing, the DLV’s commercial arm, from 2002 to 2008. He was also a member of the federation’s management board from 2008 to 2015, in charge of strategic marketing and business development, before becoming chief executive of Berlin 2018.
The 2020 Global Masters will take place from July 17 to 19 at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena, the home of Bundesliga side Schalke. The event is promoted as the “world’s biggest esports festival” and expects to attract over 100,000 visitors.
Deutsche Entertainment, the German live entertainment company, acquired a minority stake in Ally4Ever earlier this year in a deal to create the new esports stadium event in Germany.
