Renegades staff leaves, cites problematic CEO as takeover looms

Multiple insider accounts reveal that the March 6 mass departure from Renegades stemmed primarily from CEO Chris Roumayeh’s problematic conduct, characterized by leadership deficiencies and reported mistreatment targeting departing personnel.

The organization’s origins trace back to 2016 when NBA athleteJonas Jerebkocollaborated with financial consultant Chris Roumayeh to acquire RNG, with Roumayeh designated as chief executive and operational head.

Current and former staff members have raised serious concerns about Roumayeh’s management approach, alleging he engaged in psychologically damaging behavior toward team members. Specific examples emerged where the CEO’s volatile temperament reportedly sabotaged prospective player acquisitions and corporate sponsorship arrangements.

The coordinated departure involved seven of eight employees not directly assigned to professional squads, protesting what they described as executive misconduct and organizational mishandling.

Sources disclosed to WIN.gg that Renegades maintained a skeletal crew of merely 8 individuals operating an enterprise fielding competitive teams across seven gaming titles. Critical functions including visual design, content production, financial operations, media relations, and other standard positions that comparable esports entities typically staff with multiple people were routinely assigned to single personnel, creating impossible workloads.

Former Renegades AWPer Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai provided corroborating testimony during an exchange about organizational contrasts between 100 Thieves and Renegades, offering revealing perspectives on the Australian gaming company’s internal dynamics.

“Our entire squad desired relocation, and we felt dissatisfied with certain Renegades operational aspects. Recognizing our market value had increased, we engaged management about departure possibilities, resulting in our transfer,” Gratisfaction explained.

Initial public indicators of trouble emerged March 6 morning when six RNG team members publicly severed ties with the Renegades identity via Twitter. These social media declarations, published within a sixty-minute window, appeared strategically synchronized. Each message also acknowledged Regional Director Albert Nguyen’s separate resignation notification.

While five colleagues posted brief brand-focused farewells, Nguyen’s communication incorporated a Twitlonger explicitly criticizing the “uppermost echelon” of RNG leadership as the catalyst for their collective decision to depart.

“I cannot continue working under leadership lacking coherent vision for alignment and collaborative aspiration. Leadership that fails to engage their team in organizational progression? The situation becomes clear…,” Nguyen stated.

Multiple confidential sources verified that Renegades’ operational culture and management philosophy consistently reflected “traditional” and “performance-driven” characteristics. Until recently, staff reportedly benefited from an intermediary layer between Roumayeh and remaining personnel through operations director Jeff Tyler, who departed Renegades for a role with Houston Outlaws in late January.

Nguyen’s extended Twitter message specifically condemned Renegades executives for perceived administrative failures.

“When executives employ deflection tactics and avoid accountability, berate staff over performance metrics, deceive competitors and employees, attempt to create internal divisions, and demonstrate inconsistency between statements and actions – sustainable growth becomes impossible. My leadership references specifically target the highest organizational tier,” Nguyen elaborated.

Insiders confirmed to WIN.gg that Nguyen’s remarks referenced both Roumayeh and Jerebko. They provided additional context regarding Nguyen’s social media statement, asserting Jerebko demonstrated neglectful detachment rather than intentional harm, yet remained complacent permitting Roumayeh’s continued team oversight.

“Communication feels completely futile currently, truthfully speaking. I initially believed reaching out to Jonas [Jerebko] might facilitate necessary operational corrections, but he doesn’t acknowledge my communications. He interacts exclusively with [Roumayeh], converses solely with [Roumayeh], but avoids dialogue with all other personnel,” one source disclosed.

“When operational challenges arise, [Roumayeh] assures Jonas ‘Everything’s resolved,’ ending discussion,” they continued.

As March 6 progressed, WIN.gg received additional accounts alleging an employee nearly reached emotional breakdown during multiple Roumayeh outburst incidents. The chief executive reportedly threatened the staff member’s employment status and compensation despite routinely working beyond 60-hour weekly schedules.

This represented merely the initial episode among several narratives describing psychological manipulation, emotional coercion, and public reprimands from the Renegades CEO directed at organizational personnel.

One informant indicated Nguyen circulated an enterprise-wide questionnaire evaluating employee confidence levels in the Renegades identity and its executives to address deteriorating conditions. The source subsequently supplied WIN.gg with internal survey outcome documentation. The findings demonstrated significant trust deterioration between the company and its workforce.

The data uncovered that approximately 50% of organizational staff already intended RNG departure within the upcoming twelve months.

WIN.gg’s discussions with organization-adjacent individuals also generated assertions that Roumayeh emphasized fiscal conservation and content monetization above establishing fundamental brand infrastructure. Another knowledgeable source informed WIN.gg that RNG video production staff occasionally received travel request denials due to associated additional expenses, subsequently facing criticism from Roumayeh for content production shortfalls.

Sources additionally contend that compensation disbursements to contractors, employees, and competitive players typically experience five-to-ten-day delays because of the company’s reliance on PayPal for payroll processing. Although PayPal enables immediate check clearing for nominal fees, its platform indicates processingcan require up to ten business dayswhen users decline payment of those service charges.

Renegades presently maintains four principal investment stakeholders: Jonas Jerebko, Chris Roumayeh, Beasley Media, and an undisclosed fourth investment consortium. An insider familiar with organizational dynamics told WIN.gg that the March collaborative arrangement between Renegades and Beasley Media potentially generates “multi-million” dollar capital injection for the enterprise.

United States Securities and Exchange Commission documentation confirms Beasley has committed substantial seven-figure investments into the Renegades operation throughout the preceding year.The fiscal year 2019 concluding SEC records released February 2020 demonstrate Beasley allocated aggregate investments totaling $5.7 million into the Renegades corporate structure.

Through these capital infusions, Beasley secured 47% organizational ownership in Renegades by December 19. The documentation subsequently outlined intentions to obtain remaining equity shares necessary for majority control position in the Australian competitive gaming entity before Q1 2020 conclusion.

Beasley additionally compensated an unidentified entity a $2.5 million franchise licensing payment. Should this connect to the anticipated Renegades acquisition, Beasley’s cumulative organizational investment would reach minimum $8.7 million to present date.

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