Meet our team

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.