Chris Thomas

Chris joined the company in 2015 as an International Account Director and now working as Twitch’s Head of Games, he has witnessed first-hand the company grow to having more than 240 million monthly active users on its platform. 

In his role, Chris, who graduated from Keele in 2007 with a Marketing & Media degree, is responsible for defining Twitch’s sales strategy, and developing relationships and revenue opportunities with games publishers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It involves working directly with big names in the industry such as 2K Games, Xbox and Capcom. 

He said: “My job is basically to define and execute the strategy for how we build and maintain relationships with game publishers, driving revenue and ultimately making sure they have everything they need to be comfortable investing in Twitch. I shouldn’t say this too loudly, but a lot of my job I would do for free – I’m very privileged to have this role. Getting paid to be knowledgeable about games is something I never thought would be possible.” 

Although Twitch started as a small project, it is now a platform where millions of people come together live every day to chat, interact and make their own entertainment – with some top streamers making millions of pounds per year. 

Chris said: “When I joined Twitch there were six of us in a flat off of Carnaby Street in London and we’d have to go to the shop to get milk for tea and coffee when we’d ran out. We had five different offices in the first five years as the platform grew, and now we’re based in Amazon’s headquarters in London which is a really exciting place to work. 

“I think Twitch is so popular because it allows people to be at home and be themselves, and there is something genuine and authentic to that, compared to a lot of programmes on television for example where you’re often not seeing the real side of people.” 

Chris came to study at Keele from Berkshire and remembers being struck by the University’s green and expansive campus, and believes his three years spent in Staffordshire helped shape him as a person. 

He said: “At university you are not going to be the best version of yourself, and that’s fine. I think it’s a space to try things, make mistakes and really learn who you are as a person, and understand how relationships work. I discovered aspects of myself that I didn’t like, but that didn’t mean I'd failed. I think developing as a person and building those social skills that you get the chance to do at university is just as important as the educational side, and Keele was brilliant for that with it being a campus university.”