In the second in our series on KRAFTON in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), we talk to some of the key figures from our Amsterdam, Istanbul, and Porto offices about the company’s rapid growth, the different roles across the region ━ and what they are looking for in new colleagues!
Alex Nam, KRAFTON’s Head of EMEA, VP, smiles as he considers his role ━ an integral cog helping KRAFTON in EMEA and the headquarters in South Korea communicate effectively.
“Both working cultures are relatively different, but they complement each other really well. My purpose is to act as a bridge between EMEA and our HQ in Seoul, ensuring both regions are aligned and working towards the same goals.”
Of course, for Alex to act as the “bridge,” he first had to help build an office in the EMEA region━ a project that started when he arrived in Amsterdam in 2017.
“I think I have two roles here; the main mission is to expand our footprint in this region through business, publishing and esports operations,” he explains. “The second is to support the development team by creating an environment where they can work on our products.”
To achieve those missions, Alex explains that he’s carefully grown a skilled and experienced team who he knows will deliver in their field of expertise. “An important aspect of my role is trust. I have great confidence in my teams to build and maintain processes that deliver high-quality outcomes.”
One such department building those high-quality outcomes is the EMEA Esports Team led by Atila Yeşildağ. He and his team take charge of everything competitive in EMEA, meaning PUBG Esports from grassroots all the way up to the professional level.
A large part of this role is working on esports events which take place throughout the year. Atila explains, “For regional events we take control, whereas for global tournaments we will support, and the global team will lead.
“I like that it’s a particularly varied job. We deal with everything, from operations to marketing, to PR and player communications. We have to work with every aspect of the business to ensure we achieve desirable outcomes.”
Atila’s role in esports is unique due to the cultural make up of a region that spans from Portugal to Türkiye to Mongolia. “Europe, Middle East & Africa is a very large area, it’s a melting pot with many different nations and cultures who all have a shared passion for PUBG Esports.”
From Istanbul to Porto, connecting with the EMEA community
Dealing with a vast array of different cultures is something that is common within the KRAFTON EMEA region, just ask Akın Sönmezler━ Lead of Türkiye and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and part of the publishing department━ who is responsible for representing KRAFTON in these regions from the office in Istanbul.
“We have a small team here who essentially represent the Turkish entity and look after activities in the MENA region,” Akın explains. “Our community is passionate, which makes things fun, and fans really enjoy the realism that PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is famous for.
“In our office we are capable of running streaming events as we have a dedicated special design studio━ we host live streaming, esports tournaments and community activations regularly.”
Although based over 2,500 kilometers from the Amsterdam office, Akın feels a strong connection and synergy to his colleagues across Europe. He is part of the EMEA Publishing Dept., led by Hoon Bang whose department oversees Europe, CIS and MEA.
Akın explains: “We may be geographically far away, but we know who is responsible for each part of the business and are in regular contact and support each other. I also visit Amsterdam and enjoy the face-to-face meetings that come with that.”
The latest addition to the EMEA family is the studio in Porto, Portugal, which was initially set up to work on Thunder Tier One━ a top-down tactical shooter led by an independent team with the support of KRAFTON.
Ricardo Mota, Communications Manager, is responsible for directly communicating around Thunder Tier One. He also assists operationally and with HR, helping to grow the team that is led by Amsterdam-based Creative Director Paweł Smolewski. In contrast to other teams within the organization, this small group already existed independently before they were brought under the KRAFTON umbrella.
Joining KRAFTON was a smooth process, and one that himself and his colleagues enjoyed. “I feel the whole culture and the way we were welcomed and embraced has been amazing━ it is a family that truly cares for one another. It is rare to see a company that is so thoughtful towards its individual employees.”
In addition to the team in Porto, Paweł also leads a dev department of almost 50 in the Amsterdam office. The developers’ responsibilities cover PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and an unannounced project they are working on in collaboration with HQ. Paweł explains, “We work on many different areas of the development process including game design, QA, narrative, art, audio and more. It’s a busy, multifaceted part of the company to work in and that is why we enjoy it.”
“A strong team, whose varied cultures and viewpoints allow us to approach our work in a different way.”
EMEA Head of Communications Jennifer Willis leads a team responsible for supporting the publishing and esports teams as well as externally amplifying and aligning messaging.
Jennifer came onboard in 2019 and helped build up a communications network capable of managing such a large region━ a task she relished.
She says: “We’re a multinational team consisting of colleagues from all over Europe who are dedicated to servicing every part of the business. I purposely looked for comms individuals with a wide array of experiences. I believe that when you do that you create a strong team, whose varied cultures and viewpoints allow us to approach our work in a different way, resulting in us finding strategies that are best for the company.”
With so many different teams working across EMEA, it is important to have colleagues dedicated to bringing together each department and supporting each one. That’s where Head of HR and General Affairs EMEA Demmy Dumlu comes in, she was one of the first members to join the office in Europe and has been instrumental in developing the region ever since.
“I joined early; I think I was number seven here in Amsterdam. Naturally we started small, in the early days everyone chipped in where required and we then began branching out into specialist teams.”
Demmy is on hand to interview all new starters who join the office. She deeply understands the studio’s culture and dynamic and is on the lookout for likeminded people.
“The hiring managers look closely at the candidates’ skillset with regards to the job, what I focus on is the type of person and if they will be a good fit. I have to consider their personality, their maturity and whether they would be comfortable moving to a new country.”
With KRAFTON still growing in the region, it’s safe to say there are many more interviews and many more colleagues to come. It’s a long way from the seven original starters and the EMEA team is looking forward to where the journey will take them!
