New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS): Smartphone brand iQOO on Thursday announced the appointment of Shwetank Pandey as its first-ever Chief Gaming Officer (CGO), who has chosen after a three-month-long nationwide hunt.

Pandey, a 23-year-old from Kanpur, was the last person out of over 60,000 applicants who applied to become one of India's youngest chief gaming officers with iQOO.

He was appointed after an exhilarating selection process that spanned across criteria of Gameplay, Gaming Knowledge, and Personality & Communication skills.

"I feel on top of the world right now. When I initially filled out the form, I was reluctant and hoped to be among the finalists. Little did I know that it would lead me this far and eventually result in becoming iQOO’s first-ever CGO," Pandey said in a statement.

He will now be working closely with the leadership team at iQOO and will be assisting in sharing gaming insights to build a complete smartphone package for gamers.

Along with this, he will get an opportunity to collaborate with top gamers across the country, all this while earning a remuneration of Rs 10 lakh, the company said.

“The DNA of iQOO is to bring in ‘I Quest On and On’ and Shwetank was never short of his peak performance across all rounds of the hunt. With him joining us, we intend to drive a more dynamic and fresher perspective to our products and initiatives for the younger gaming enthusiasts in the country,” Nipun Marya, CEO, iQOO, said in a statement.

In addition to the CGO role, iQOO has appointed two zonal CGOs to the dynamic team -- Aojesh Shrivastava from Delhi and Battu Nikhil Reddy from Hyderabad.

They will be working directly with Pandey to align strategies, enhance community engagement, and ensure that the gaming experience for iQOO users continues to be exceptional.

They will earn a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakhs each for their pivotal roles.

The main objective behind the CGO role is to assure that iQOO is providing seamless and top-notch experiences to its valued consumers across all aspects.