UK university esports body National Student Esports (NSE) has announced that Alex Coulson (right) has taken on the role of managing director.
He replaces Jon Tilbury (left), who has left the role after three years to work for Riot Games as organised play manager for Europe.
Alex Coulson is also the current MD of Sport Industry Group, which, like NSE, is part of the parent company Benchmark. He will be MD of both Sport Industry Group and NSE going forwards.
Sport Industry Group promotes business across the sports sector, including delivering the Sport Industry Awards, and Alex has supported NSE since its inception.
NSE was first officially announced in May 2018. With existing UK university esports body the NUEL already well established, the emergence of a rival in NSE ruffled a few feathers and raised a few questions at the time, but university teams have now grown accustomed to taking part in both of the organisations’ tournaments.
“The journey NSE has taken over the past three years is one I won’t forget. The team has worked so hard and has such passion, and after working with Alex, I know NSE is in safe hands to go from strength to strength.”
Jon Tilbury
NSE has also today announced the Games Innovation Challenge in partnership with Barclays.
It’s a games development competition for students across the UK to test their skills and creativity.
Starting today (January 14th 2021), participants will have nine weeks to create innovative and competitive games with the chance to win a portion of the £5,000 prize pool.
Jon Tilbury, outgoing NSE MD, said: “The journey NSE has taken over the past three years is one I won’t forget. The team has worked so hard and has such passion, and after working with Alex, I know NSE is in safe hands to go from strength to strength.
“I’m proud and grateful to have been part of NSE’s journey and I’m looking forward to watching their continued success.”
NSE and Sport Industry Group MD Alex Coulson added: “It’s my role that is changing, and it is a genuinely exciting time for me, but this really says much more about both the NSE and Sport Industry Group teams. It is testament to their skills, knowledge and continued hard work that I can take on the MD role across both businesses.
“It’s a real privilege to work with them all, well supported by the central Benchmark team and other businesses too.
“Over the years we have seen a huge amount of shared knowledge and movement between the sport and esports industries, and this reciprocal learning is something I plan to use to benefit both businesses and their respective communities as much as possible.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
