Nazara Subsidiary NODWIN’s CEO Siddharth Kedia Quits

SUMMARY

NODWIN co-CEO Gautam Singh Virk will take charge of the operational aspects of Kedia’s role, while CFO Karandeep Singh will now oversee acquisitions and investor relations

Chirag Shah, head of the telecom business of Nazara Technologies, has also resigned after a stint of 16 years to pursue new opportunities

The top-level exits come at a time when NODWIN Gaming has been on an acquisition spree after raising a big-ticket funding round from investors

Gaming giant Nazara Technologies on Wednesday (November 1) said the chief executive officer (CEO) of its esports arm NODWIN Gaming, Siddharth Kedia, has quit the company.

In a regulatory filing with the bourses, Nazara said Kedia’s resignation came into effect on October 31.

NODWIN’s co-CEO, Gautam Singh Virk, will take over the operational role from Kedia, while chief financial officer (CFO) Karandeep Singh has been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing acquisitions and investor relations.

Stating the reason for his resignation, NODWIN Gaming said Kedia plans to pursue ‘new challenges and opportunities’ that align with his long-term career goals.

Kedia took over as the CEO of NODWIN Gaming in November 2019. Before joining the gaming giant, Kedia served as the chief strategy officer at Viacom18. Prior to that, he also cofounded private equity (PE) firm Ambit Pragma Ventures in 2007.

An alumni of Delhi University and NYU Stern School of Business and London School of Economics, Kedia also worked in different positions at companies such as Ernst & Young India and GE India.

Meanwhile, the listed gaming unicorn also announced the departure of the head of the telecom business of Nazara Technologies, Chirag Shah, who put in his papers after a 16 year-long stint to pursue new opportunities.

An alumni of Mumbai University and NMIMS, Shah rose through the ranks of Nazara Technologies to the position of ‘senior management personnel’ at the gaming company.

Founded in 2014 by Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN Gaming is an esports company that owns a slew of gaming and sports entertainment intellectual properties (IPs), and offers sports-related products and services to customers. Nazara acquired a majority stake in the esports company in 2018.

The esports giant is also backed by the likes of Zerodha’s Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, KRAFTON, and SBI Mutual Fund among others.

The development comes at a time when Nodwin has been eyeing growth and global expansion. Recently, NODWIN Gaming acquired a 100% stake in PublishME for $2 Mn and followed it up by picking up a 51% stake in Singapore-based mediatech startup Branded in an all-cash deal.

In May 2023, NODWIN Gaming raised $28 Mn (INR 232 Cr) from new and existing investors to expand and incubate new IPs as well as venture into new territories.

India’s gaming market was valued at $2.6 Bn in FY22 and is expected to grow to $8.6 Bn by FY27 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%, as per a report by Statista.