Our Team
The Organization is composed of life-long chess players as well as newer yet equally passionate fans who believe in the positive attributes of chess and want to further share these with the world.
Management
The Organization is composed of life-long chess players as well as newer yet equally passionate fans who believe in the positive attributes of chess and want to further share these with the world.
Andreas Thome
Chief Executive Officer
Prior to joining Play Magnus, Andreas Thome was the COO of Opera Software ASA, where he served for 10 years on the management team. Andreas has broad expertise in business development, commercial strategy, and management from 15 years of experience in IT, Software and Telecom. Andreas holds an MSc in Finance & Investment from York University and an MSc in Economics from the University of Oslo.
Dmitri Shneider
Chief Financial Officer
Dmitri Shneider joined Chessable as the company's COO in 2019 and became CFO of the Play Magnus Group in 2020. Prior to Chessable, Dmitri Shneider was a senior equity strategist at JPMorgan in New York and Hong Kong for 11 years, where he last held the title of Executive Director. Mr. Shneider holds a BSc in Finance with a minor in Economics from the University of Texas, Dallas. He is a CFA charterholder and an International Chess Master.
Sebastian Kuhnert
Chief Business Development Officer
Sebastian J. Kuhnert is the Chief Business Development Officer of Play Magnus AS and joined the Play Magnus Group as CEO of chess24. Prior to Play Magnus, Mr. Kuhnert has held various positions with international companies such as Tradimo Interactive and PokerStrategy.com. Mr.Kuhnert holds an MSc in General Management from WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management.
Arkus Fredriksson
Chief Strategy Officer
Arkus Fredriksson has worked with Play Magnus since 2016 on strategic and corporate development initiatives, including the formation of the Play Magnus Group through the consolidation with chess24 and acquisition of Chessable. His background is in Investment Banking with Lazard in London. Arkus completed his undergraduate studies in management and computer science at University College London and Columbia University.
David Kramaley
Chief Technology Officer
David Kramaley founded Chessable in 2015 and joined the Play Magnus Group in 2019. He has since become CTO of the Play Magnus Group and oversees all development of the Group’s platforms. His background is in video game development as the founder of Sharkius Games. David holds a BSc in Computer Science from Queen’s College, City University of New York, a PGCert in Applied Psychology from the University of Liverpool and MSc in the Psychology of Education from the University of Bristol.
Scott Dodson
Chief Marketing Officer
Scott joined as group CMO in 2021. Scott is a repeat entrepreneur and mentor from the Seattle, USA who has lived in the EU for the past eight years. In Europe he has been CMO of Hero Gaming (Malta, Sweden), Chief Growth Officer and Chief Product Officer, Lingvist (Estonia, London), Chief Product Owner and Commercial Owner for Virgin Poker, Gamesys (London). In Seattle he held roles as Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer, Bobber Interactive, Co-founder, CEO, Divide by Zero Games, Co-Founder CEO Tenacious Games, as well as a professor of game design for Digipen, a top 5 worldwide video game development university. Scott continues to mentor Techstars London and Berlin, and supports entrepreneurship cohorts for the British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
Myriam Ben Farhat
VP of People & Culture
Myriam Ben Farhat joined as a certified professional coach in 2020 and became VP of People & Culture of the Play Magnus Group in 2021. From her experience as an entrepreneur and a founder of Pangea Shipping Group based in Tunisia and as a corporate business lawyer for 15 years, she brings her expertise to coach and mentor our people, optimize the organization and build our culture following the values of the group. She holds an MSc from the University of Juridical, Political, and Social Sciences of Tunis; she is an ICF, International Coaching Federation member.
Tatiana Guarconi
Chief Information Officer
Tatiana Guarconi joined Chessable as the company's Head of Data Protection, Business Intelligence and IT Operations in 2021 and became CIO of the Play Magnus Group shortly after. Prior to Chessable, Tatiana has held various positions at major companies such as IBM, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Universal Orlando/Comcast, having the opportunity to lead Data Warehouse, CRM and many other key IT initiatives. Tatiana Guarconi holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering, with a minor in Computer Systems, from Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. She also holds an MBA degree from UFRJ - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, also in Brazil.
Gerald Tan
Chief Product Officer
Gerald is an experienced product and business leader, joining Play Magnus Group as CPO and CEO of chess24. Prior to this, he held leadership positions in various companies, including co-founding a mobile games startup. He also mentor startup leaders (early investor to Chessable) and teaches in adult college. He started his career in finance and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAEW).
Board of Directors
The Play Magnus Group is led by a strong group of board members holding substantial experience from a variety of backgrounds from entertainment and media to entrepreneurship and finance.
Chairman of the Board
Anders Brandt
Board Member
Henrik Carlsen
Board Member
Patrick Sandahl
Board Member
Jens Hilgers
Board Member
Irene Kristiansen
Board Member
Espen Agdestein
Board Member
Nils Lensch-Franzen