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Activision Blizzard builds out capabilities with 3 veteran sports hires

Activision Blizzard has lured three executives away from traditional sports and entertainment to expand a newly created division called Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues.

 

Snow

Brandon Snow, NBA senior vice president of team marketing and business operations, will become chief revenue officer; Daniel Cherry, former chief marketing and innovation officer for the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center, will become chief marketing officer; and Marc Kolin, NBCUniversal vice president of revenue analytics and strategy, will become vice president of finance and strategy.  

They all report to Pete Vlastelica, president and CEO of Major League Gaming and the new division, which operates the Overwatch League and the Call of Duty World League, as well as commercializes the game developer’s other esports.

Cherry

“The traction and momentum we’ve had with Overwatch League so far certainly has led us to want to level up across the organization, and invest in the things that are working,” Vlastelica said.

Vlastelica said Snow’s experience developing the NBA in China — he was senior vice president of global marketing partnerships from 2015 to 2017 — was a key selling point. “We’re very excited about the opportunity globally,” Vlastelica said.  

Snow said “everything” appealed to him about the job. He and Vlastelica first discussed the position a few months ago.

Kolin

“When you look at the growth and exposure of esports, where it is and where it’s going, it was very easy for me to see that Activision Blizzard is leading the way,” Snow said. “So the minute there was an opportunity to dig into being part of that team and the growth that’s in front of us, it was a pretty easy decision.”

Cherry, a 2017 SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 honoree, had been with the Devils and Prudential Center from 2015 to this January. Before that, he worked for the New York Cosmos and agencies Anomaly and Wieden & Kennedy. 

Kolin oversaw analytics, financial planning and analysis, and other duties for Universal Studios Hollywood. Before that, he worked in business development roles for the NBA and the NFL.

All of them will play a part in efforts to sell expansion franchise slots in Overwatch League.

getty images

Also, Vlastelica said, the company will give new consideration to further developing the “Call of Duty” esports landscape. Many esports insiders believe the company wants to create a franchised league in “Call of Duty” as well.

“We’ve learned a lot in the first couple of months after launching Overwatch as a franchise league that you could imagine … we’d apply to other games,” Vlastelica said. “Nothing specific to announce in terms of timing and plans, but certainly thinking about the future of ‘Call of Duty’ as an esport is a priority for me personally.”

For more coverage of the business of esports, visit our partners, esportsobserver.com.

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