Teemu Koski named CEO of Nodwin Gaming MENA

DUBAI: Nodwin Gaming has handed Teemu Koski the keys to its Middle East and North Africa business, promoting him to chief executive after a year spent helping steer the company’s shift from esports specialist to full-blown youth culture platform.

Koski’s brief is broad. Gaming and esports remain the core, but the mandate stretches into creators, entertainment, communities, brands, technology and live experiences, all stitched together to chase the next generation of audiences across emerging markets. As CEO, he will lean on partnerships with governments, publishers, brands and strategic partners to build commercial platforms with staying power.

He is not giving anything up to take the top regional job. Koski will also continue running Nodwin’s global data monetisation business, turning data into scalable products and revenue streams across the company’s international footprint.

The appointment caps a rapid rise through the region. Koski joined Nodwin’s MENA operation as chief business officer in August 2025, driving commercial growth across media rights, partnerships and publisher ecosystems, before stepping up to the top job this month. Before Nodwin, he spent nearly two years at YaLLa Esports as chief growth officer and VP of media business, and more than 14 years at Finland’s Elisa, including a stint heading Elisa Esports.

Koski reckons the MENA region is entering a defining stretch for gaming, entertainment and youth culture, and he is not short of ambition about Nodwin’s place in it. With esports still the engine but the vision running far wider, the message from Dubai is clear: the youth culture land grab in the Gulf has a new frontman.