PROGRAMMING  TOPICS

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

CONTENT BLOCK #1: Laying a Foundation

9:00 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.

Welcome to the eSportsTravel Summit

Tim Schneider, Sports Division Chairman, Northstar Travel Group

Chris Meyer, Vice-President of Sales, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
Chuck Bowling, President and COO, Mandalay Bay and Delano Las Vegas

9:10 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Chat #1

“Let’s Get Real: Esports Beyond the Hype”

Projections for the growth of esports have been eye popping. While there is tremendous opportunity ahead for all stakeholders, how much of the hype is speculation and how much is grounded in reality? This session will set the table for the discussion of where esports is today and where it is headed tomorrow. 

Jon Bukosky, Founder & CEO, Ultimate Media Ventures

Matthew Boyd, Director of Consulting, Nielsen Sports & Entertainment

In conversation with Jason Gewirtz, Editor, SportsTravel
 

9:30 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. E-Talk #1

“An Introduction to Super League Gaming”

Esports at the amateur level is growing, with opportunities for children as young as 6 to experience competitive play. One of the most successful ventures to date has been Super League Gaming, which models itself not just as a potential feeder system to the pros, but as a way to engage youth through esports. With organized teams and events in 16 cities and plans for more, Super League is succeeding as a next-generation youth-sports organization. 

Matt Edelman, Chief Commerical Officer, Super League Gaming

9:40 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Panel #1: 

“Engagement and Immersion: Youth and Esports”

Professional esports leagues get a lot of publicity, and with good reason given the size and scope of their events. But not all esports events are filling 20,000-seat arenas and 60,000-seat stadiums. At the youth level, esports is being seen as a way to engage youth in new ways that previous generations have not experienced. In this session, learn how several youth-serving organizations view the future of esports at the entry level.

Matt Edelman, Chief Commerical Officer, Super League Gaming

Justin Jia, Founder, Youth Esports of America

Mason Mullenioux, Founder, High School Esports League

Lenny Silberman, Founder, 4G44 Esports

Samantha Anton, Chief of Operations, North America Scholastic Esports Federation

Moderator: Jennifer Lee, Senior Editor, SportsTravel

CONTENT BLOCK #2: The Evolution of Esports         

10:45 a.m. – 11:25 a.m. Panel #2:
“Owners, Franchises, Teams, Gamers and the Esports Lifestyle”

The professionalization of esports has revolutionized video gaming in a short amount of time and has brought with it the evolution of the esports lifestyle. Understanding this aspect of what’s happening in esports is tantamount to leveraging the growth of esports for marketers of all kinds, including those in the destination and hospitality industries. In this session, you’ll learn how esports pros and online content creators have become the new social media influencers and how an understanding of the esports lifestyle will factor into successfully connecting with this growing market segment.

Roger Caneda, Operations Manager, Mavs Gaming

Anthony Marquez, Founder & CEO, Impact Gaming

Alex Novosad, Founder, Gankstars

Jordan Sherman, Head of Sponsorships and Revenue, Gen.G

Moderator: Jason Gewirtz, Editor, SportsTravel

11:25 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Chat #2:

“Entering the Mainstream: Esports at the Collegiate and Olympic Levels”

As recently as a few years ago, the thought of an esports team sanctioned at the secondary school or university level may have seemed unlikely. But university athletic departments are investing in esports teams and attracting top talent as a result. In addition, international multisport events such as the Asian Games are already welcoming esports competition and the International Olympic Committee is considering a future for the Olympic and Paralympic Games with esports as well. Learn what is happening on campuses and at the international level and how that will impact traditional multisport events.

Kurt Melcher, Executive Director of Esports, Intersport

In conversation with Tim Schneider, Sports Division Chairman, Northstar Travel Group

11:45 a.m. – 12 noon E-Talk #2: 

“How Video Games Saved My Life”

While serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, Stephen Giddings was injured by sniper fire and retired from the service in 2010. He soon realized that gaming was the only way he could be distracted from and cope with his injuries. That love of esports eventually led to the formation of the Warrior Gaming League, offering soldiers a new outlet to bond and in some cases, to heal.  

Steven Giddings, Founder & CEO, Warrior Gaming League

CONTENT BLOCK #3: Venues, Events and Logistics

Sponsored by Bloomington CVB

1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. E-Talk #3: 

“The Esports Venue of the Future” 

Esports events can be held in a wide range of venues, but the rise of the esports-specific venue is now upon us. Leading the charge is Allied Esports, which has opened eight esports-specific properties for competition and content creation—and has plans for more. Learn how this company’s approach to venues could be a sign of what’s to come.
 

Simon Temperley, Chief Marketing Officer, Allied Esports
 

1:15 p.m. - 2:05 p.m. Panel #3: 

“Destinations and Esports Venues”

For destinations serious about growing their event and room-night footprint, esports need to be part of the mix. While many cities are trying to figure out where to start, several have made the leap into esports and are seeing results from having done so. In this session, you’ll hear how several leaders in the travel and hospitality industry have already capitalized on the growth of esports and how they are rethinking the events and venues available to accommodate the growth ahead.

Neil Johnson, Director of Global Sales, MGM Resorts International

Lisa Motley, Director of Sports Marketing, Las Vegas CVA

Dan O’Neill, VP of Strategy and Sales, Bloomington CVB

Roy Edmondson, VP of Sports Development, Sports Anaheim

Moderator: Jennifer Lee, Senior Editor, SportsTravel

2:05 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

“The Lucky Seven: Three-Minute Fast-Intro Session”

The number of event organizers in the esports is growing at a rapid rate. In this rapid-fire session, you’ll meet seven established organizers who will briefly discuss the scope of their events and what they are looking for in a host city or venue.

CONTENT BLOCK #4: Visions for the Future

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Chat #4: 

“The Full Extent of the Market” 

Esports competitions are one thing. But the budding esports industry is producing a wide range of events that go beyond gameday. Learn about the full extent of the esports market, including conventions, fan fests and other events that are attracting growing numbers of participants from coast to coast. 

Dan Butchko, Founder and CEO, Play Crafting

Matty Kirsch, Chief Content Officer, Ultimate Media Ventures

Peter Perez, Esports Consultant, DreamHack

In conversation with Christian Bishop, CEO, Thunder Gaming

3:45 p.m.  – 4:00 p.m. E-Talk #4: 

“Going Outside the Box: Placing the Right Bets in Esports”

Esports may be a relatively new slice of the sports-event industry, but there are thought leaders who are directly guiding the evolution of esports. Industry veteran Tobias Sherman co-created ELEAGUE in partnership with Turner Broadcasting after opening his own esports talent agency, which was acquired by WME-IMG. With his new venture, Foundry IV, this visionary continues to anticipate the direction of the market, most notably the impact that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on sports wagering will have on esports.

Tobias Sherman, CEO and Co-founder, Foundry IV

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Panel #4:

“The Future of Esports Events and Travel”

While there are many unknowns when it comes to predicting the future of esports, there is certainty that the number of live, in-person esports events will continue to grow. With that growth will come an ever-increasing impact on the travel industry. In this session, you’ll hear from a range of esports industry leaders as they predict the future of the esports event industry, how travel and tourism will be a component of that growth and how your organization can stay on the leading edge as esports events emerge and expand.

Tobias Sherman, CEO and Co-founder, Foundry IV

Jamie Oakley, President, Revolution RFP

Kim Meltzer, CEO, KidKesty Productions

Tyler Schrodt, Founder and CEO, Electronic Gaming Federation

Justin Dellario, Head of Esports, Twitch

Moderated by Jason Gewirtz, Editor, SportsTravel
 

SPEAKER PROFILES

Samantha Anton

Chief of Operations, North America Scholastic Esports Federation
Samantha Anton serves as the chief of operations for the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), formerly known as the Orange County High School Esports League (OCHSEL). Operating out of UCI Esports, she oversees high school league operations including tournament organization and governance, event production and marketing. In early 2018, its inaugural year, OCHSEL involved 25 schools and 38 teams, integrating esports and education in its programming. In summer 2018, the OCHSEL is announcing its formal expansion as NASEF, offering competitive leagues, educational opportunities and a blooming curriculum for high school students.

Christian Bishop

Chief Executive Officer, Thunder Gaming

Christian Bishop is the chief executive officer of Thunder Gaming, the largest esports center in Los Angeles with a total property size of 150,000 square feet. A former telecommunications executive, Bishop used his passion for gaming, esports and technology to launch Thunder Gaming, a global esports and gaming production company. In 2017, he launched “4Cast,” the first of its kind esports and gaming show to deliver esports and gaming news and information in an entertaining and engaging format that appeals to gamers and fans. Over the course of his career, Bishop has served as an enterprise media director with Level 3 Communications and director of content for BidChat, a cutting edge two-way live broadcasting platform for social influencers. He is also an executive producer for the film "Huntsville.” Bishop is most recognized from his recent work on ABC’s “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelors in Paradise.” He also serves on several boards and participates in community organizations such as the Western Regional Diversity Council, where he works to advance and sustain an inclusive environment for gamer and gaming enthusiasts.

Chuck Bowling

President and COO, Mandalay Bay and Delano Las Vegas

Chuck Bowling is president and chief operating officer of Mandalay Bay and Delano Las Vegas. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all operations at the AAA Four Diamond Award-winning resort. Previously, Bowling served as executive vice-president of sales and marketing for MGM Resorts International where he provided executive oversight for company sales strategies, internet marketing, industry relations, MGM Resorts event productions and the Corporate Contact Center. Since joining the company in 1998 as vice-president of sales for MGM Grand Las Vegas, Bowling held a number of key management positions including senior vice-president of sales and marketing and executive vice-president of hotel operations for MGM Grand as well as executive vice-president of Mandalay Bay. Prior to joining MGM, Bowling worked for 10 years in sales and marketing positions with Westin Hotel and Resorts in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Palm Springs and San Francisco. Before joining Westin, he served five years in a sales capacity with Stouffer Hotels and two years in hotel operations with Omni Hotels. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority since 2005 and recently was selected Vice-Chair for the 2016-2017 term. He also served on the Executive Committee for the U.S. Travel Association (2006-2011), the Board of Directors for Meeting Professionals International (2005-2011) and the Nevada Commission on Tourism (2010-2012).

Matthew Boyd

Director of Consulting, Nielsen Sports & Entertainment

Since joining Nielsen, Matthew Boyd has led numerous client engagements with rights holders focusing on holistic valuation, sponsorship structure as well as sales strategy and support. Rights holder engagements have spanned sports, music and esports and have included multiple professional teams, a Power‐5 college conference, a NASCAR track and multiple music festivals and award shows. His esports clients have included both game publishers and leagues as well as one of the largest platforms for esports and video game consumption in the industry.

Jon Bukosky

Founder and CEO, Ultimate Media Ventures

Jon Bukosky brings 20 years of experience as a brand strategist to emerging media technologies. As an influential figure in Los Angeles’ digital entertainment community, he leverages relationships with major studios, game publishers, sports leagues, record labels, talent agencies and status in The Producers Guild of America to push companies to innovate and drive revenue. Having held various executive positions at digital/mobile corporations, Bukosky has cultivated combined exits exceeding 500MM. As associate partner at USWeb/CKS, and overseeing western region business development operations, he underwent four mergers and was a part of the executive team going public on NASDAQ. He has worked with numerous industry leaders such as ABC/Disney, Apple, Warner Bros, Sony and NBC.

Dan Butchko

Founder and CEO, Playcrafting

Dan Butchko is the founder and CEO of Playcrafting. Playcrafting provides developers across the United States—from noobs to pros—with the tools required to get their games off the ground. This is done through approachable hands-on classes that lower the barrier for entry for anyone to get started making games and to empower pros to level up their skills. Playcrafting hosts everything from local gatherings like expos and demo and plays to industry-recognized annual events like Play NYC and the largest Global Game Jam site in the United States. A commitment to community and in-person support has helped elevate Playcrafting to now serve communities across five U.S. cities, with year-round operations in three. The organization offers over 200 courses and events annually.

Roger Caneda

Operations Manager, Mavs Gaming

Roger Caneda is the operations manager of Mavs Gaming, the Dallas league team of the NBA 2K League that launched in May. Prior to joining Mavs Gaming, Caneda held marketing, sponsorship and managerial roles with Gale Force Esports, the Miami Flamingo Esports Team, Enigma6 Group, Team AGG and Aporia Customs, while elevating the careers of the gamers on his teams. Prior to the gaming industry, Caneda held sales roles at Dish Network and Ziprecruiter after attending South Mountain Community College for business management.

Justin Dellario

Head of Esports, Twitch

Justin Dellario oversees the competitive gaming business, strategic partnerships and esports operations for Twitch, the world's largest video game live streaming platform. In that role, Dellario works with game developers, tournament organizers, professional teams and broadcasters to grow esports content on Twitch. Prior to Twitch, he served as head of global esports for gaming hardware developer, Razer, where he developed the company's sponsorship and marketing campaigns.

Matt Edelman

Chief Commercial Officer, Super League Gaming

Matt Edelman is the chief commercial officer of Super League Gaming, the leading esports platform for amateur competitive gamers. Super League runs local gaming competitions and national city-vs-city tournaments enabling esports fans to join in-person branded teams and play like the pros. Edelman oversees the company’s revenue, marketing, content and business development activities. He met the Super League team while serving as the head of digital operations and marketing solutions for WME-IMG, where, among other responsibilities, he assisted with the formation of ELEAGUE in a joint venture with Turner. At WME-IMG, Edelman focused on three areas: digital audience and revenue growth across the company’s live events within the sports, fashion, culinary and entertainment verticals; spearheading digital consulting services offered to consumer, media and sports brands, college and university athletics programs, and talent; managing direct-to-consumer digital content businesses inclusive of two OTT properties. Prior to joining WME-IMG, he was the CEO/founder or on the executive team of multiple early stage digital media companies, after having been an entertainment industry executive responsible for helping to build Marvel Comics film and television business and launch Marvel.com.

Roy Edmondson

Vice-President of Sports Business Development, Sports Anaheim

Roy Edmondson is the vice-president of sports business development for Sports Anaheim. He has worked in the sports industry for over 22 years including roles with ESPN (Disney's) Wide World of Sports, the National Hockey League, Royal Sports International, Aviator Sports complex, the Myrtle Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau and the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau. He received his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and previously served on the board of directors for the National Association of Sports Commissions. Edmondson has led Sports Anaheim to the 2017 and 2018 NASC Sports Organization of the Year.

Jason Gewirtz

Editor, SportsTravel

Jason Gewirtz is the editor of SportsTravel. A veteran daily newspaper journalist and editor prior to joining SportsTravel in 2008, Gewirtz worked for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, where he started as a city hall reporter and was promoted to the position of executive city editor in charge of city and business coverage. He also worked as a reporter at the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado, and at the Broomfield Enterprise in Broomfield, Colorado. He is a former member of the board of directors for the National Association of Sports Commissions and has won numerous awards as both a writer and editor.

Steven Giddings

Founder and CEO, Warrior Gaming League

Steven Giddings served just over five years in the U.S. Army. In July 2008, on his second deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, he was shot in the neck by a sniper. After retiring from the military in 2010, he became drawn into video games and realized that gaming was able to help him cope with his injuries. He went on to found the Warrior Gaming League, whose mission is to bring together soldiers through gaming to combat the psychological difficulties suffered through combat or other traumatic experiences while serving.

Luke Hoffman

Chief Operating Officer, Gankstars

Luke Hoffman is an esports veteran with six years of industry experience. After starting his first business in high school, he moved on to organizing Hearthstone events in college, and led marketing at a 6 million-user gaming startup after graduation. Most recently, Hoffman joined Gankstars Esports, with whom he has attended the Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio, secured an H1Z1 Pro League Franchise in Las Vegas, and participated in building one of the fastest growing esports teams in the United States.

Justin Jia

Founder, Youth Esports of America

Justin Jia is a college freshman and esports entrepreneur as well as founder of Youth Esports of America. Through his experience building local communities for high school esports, Jia created Youth Esports of America back in 2017. This nonprofit assists students in building on-campus high school esports communities that provide recognition for passionate youth gamers. His vision is to be able to allow students to develop lifelong skills that can be applied in any field through their collective interest in video games.

Neil Johnson

Director of Global Sales, MGM Resorts International

Neil Johnson is the director of global sales for MGM Resorts International assigned to the sports and esports markets. He has more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality and sports industry and is working to establish MGM Resorts as the ultimate destination for eSports events and competitions. Johnson most recently was the national director of hotel sales at the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board focusing on the western region, HPN Global and American Express Meetings & Events. Prior to this role he served on the sales staffs of the Tropicana Las Vegas, Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa and the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority focusing on self-contained hotel programs and events. Previous to those roles he worked for the Las Vegas Bowl, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and ESPN Regional at UNLV.

Matty Kirsch

Chief Content Officer, Ultimate Media Ventures

Matty Kirsch is a 16-plus year veteran in the gaming and esports content creation space. Kirsch recently joined the Ultimate Media Ventures team as chief content officer after previously working for Machinima, Microsoft and Major League Gaming.

Jennifer Lee

Senior Editor, SportsTravel

Jennifer Lee is senior editor of SportsTravel. Prior to starting at SportsTravel in 2014 as assistant editor, Lee served as deputy managing editor at Zócalo Public Square, an online media outlet and producer of live events throughout Los Angeles and beyond. Lee also worked at Pasadena Magazine as an editorial assistant and has a degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine.

Anthon Marquez

Founder and CEO, Impact Gaming

Anthony Marquez is the founder and CEO of Impact Gaming, a professional esports and entertainment company. As an esports expert, Marquez works as an adviser and consultant for various companies within the industry.   

Chris Meyer

Vice-President of Sales, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority

Chris Meyer is vice president of sales for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. The LVCVA is the destination marketing organization for Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, and its mission centers on attracting visitors by promoting the destination as the world’s most desirable destination for leisure and business travel. The LVCVA also owns and operates the Las Vegas Convention Center. In his role, Meyer is responsible for directing the worldwide activities of the LVCVA’s convention sales and convention center sales teams. He also serves as executive director of the World Trade Center (WTC) Las Vegas—a partnership between the LVCVA and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to market Las Vegas to business travelers around the globe under the WTC brand. Meyer joined the LVCVA in 2000 as manager of convention center sales, moved to director of convention center sales and was then promoted to his current position in 2007. Prior to joining the LVCVA, he worked at the Sands Expo & Convention Center for 10 years, including serving as director of sales and marketing.

Kurt Melcher

Executive Director of Esports, Intersport

Kurt Melcher is the executive director of Esports at Intersport and Robert Morris University in Chicago. Through his efforts, RMU became the first university to recognize esports as part of the athletic department and offer athletic scholarships to gamers, helping to legitimize the world of collegiate esports. An athletic administrator and 15 years, Melcher recognized the core educational elements involved in traditional sports and believes the same hold true for esports.  Recently the NCAA selected Intersport to lead the research and ideation surrounding the association’s potential role in collegiate esports.   

Kim Meltzer

CEO, KidKesty Productions

Kim Meltzer is a 20-year veteran in the hotel and hospitality industry and has supported and produced more than 500 events in her career. Her gamer tag, given to her by the Call of Duty community, is COD Mom. Meltzer has worked with Twitch, DreamHack, Blizzard/Activision and Psyonix to name a few. Supporting the community, production and developers, she has been branded the esports Mom who has raised and supported more than 1,000 pro players across more than eight gaming titles at global events since 2010.

Lisa Motley

Director of Sports Marketing and Special Events, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority

Lisa Motley, a veteran of casino, hotel, sports and special events advertising and marketing is director of sports marketing and special events for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Before joining the LVCVA, Motley served as the director of marketing for Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where she developed the marketing and digital strategies for the property’s 10 tracks and 1,400 event days including NASCAR weekend and two NHRA national events. She also oversaw the B2B initiative and CRM platform. Prior to LVCVA and LVMS, she held the role of marketing and digital media specialist for Las Vegas Events, the special events agency for the city of Las Vegas. There she assisted in marketing efforts for such notable events as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, USA Basketball, Pac -12 and Mountain West college basketball tournaments, and the New Year’s Eve fireworks spectacular. Before LVE, Motley held positions at the Golden Nugget, New York-New York Hotel & Casino and Aladdin Resort & Casino.

Mason Mullineaux

Founder, High School Esports League

Mason Mullineaux founded the High School Esports League in 2013 with the mission that esports deserve to be a varsity level sport. Knowing that many students struggle to find a place to call their own in high school, Mullineaux and the HSEL are now connecting them to a community and scholarship opportunities. The HSEL is now serving more than 800 high schools across the country.

Alex Novosad

Founder, Gankstars

Alex "PwntByUkrainian" Novosad is an ex-Intel software engineer turned entrepreneur who, in early 2015 and after a lifetime of gaming and watching other teams compete, founded his own esports organization called Gankstars. Like many immigrants seeking the American dream, Alex came to the U.S. with barely any money to his name and had to do whatever it took to survive; in his case, washing gym mats for minimum wage. The lessons of starting from the bottom were well-received. Despite no initial investment or budget, Gankstars managed to win in Korea with a team that worked for prize pool only, and then used its share of winnings and the sponsorship money that followed to expand. A little over three years later, Gankstars is operating seven teams with more than 25 professional players total, and boasts over 3.5 million monthly minutes watched across its top streamers. Among those teams is one of the best-performing Fortnite squads in the world, the most popular game on the market. "I know I look much older after just a few years in esports," he said, "but I barely even notice the grind. All I think about every morning is how we are just finishing up the first page of our story and still have an entire book to write. Esports is the future of entertainment; what you see now is but the tip of the iceberg."

Jamie Oakley

Owner and President, Revolution RFP

Jamie Oakley has more than two decades of experience in the hospitality and events industry and is the owner/president of Revolution RFP, a full-service meeting management and experiential marketing company. Oakley's extensive background includes providing services for a variety of small and large scale events for clients including but not limited to Anime Expo, Twitch, Google, DreamHack, Vainglory and Rocket League. His experience also includes hotel operations, sales and long-term management goal setting for mega resorts, luxury and multiple-unit resort properties. Oakley has held national and global sales roles for hotels, resorts and convention and visitors bureaus, as well as multiple board positions for The Society of Incentive Travel Executives (SITE).

Dan O’Neill

Vice-President of Strategy and Sales, Bloomington Minnesota Convention & Visitors Bureau 

Dan O’Neill develops “win-win” strategies, partnerships and promotions, with major media, entertainment, hotel and sports properties to create private and public economic impact. As the vice-president of strategy and sales for the Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau, he leads the largest concentration of hotels in the state of Minnesota to provide growth for those hotels and surrounding attractions and entertainment venues. O’Neill has worked on major events and digital engagement strategies including the 2015 National Senior Games, the 2016 Ryder Cup and the 2018 NFL Super Bowl. He is currently working on the 2019 NCAA Final Four.

Peter Perez

Esports Consultant, DreamHack

Peter Perez is a Texas-based, decorated army veteran passionately elevating the positive impacts of gaming to communities abroad. As a former government employee turned marketing/media/esports consultant, Perez has been producing esports events in the United States since 2013. His most notable client since late 2016 is DreamHack AB, a reputable giant in the esports scene. He was directly involved in growing attendees numbers for all DreamHack NA events. Most recently, DreamHack Austin attracted over 30,000 attendees in June 2018. Perez has spent his life playing video games since the age of 3. His pursuit of this passion has helped him and others realize the power gaming has to heal the world. In 2013 he got his professional start by producing online and LAN tournaments for DOTA 2 players in Austin, Texas, with his test project, MOBA Esports. In addition, he was filling movie theaters with gamers to spectate the DOTA 2 International and celebrate the biggest prize pools in gaming history.

Timothy Schneider

Founder and Chairman, Sports Division, Northstar Travel Group

Timothy Schneider is the founder and chairman of the Sports Division of Northstar Travel Group. Through April 2017, he headed up Schneider Publishing, the Los Angeles–based company that launched the annual TEAMS Conference & Expo, and founded SportsTravel. He is a former radio station news director and worked in political campaign management prior to founding Schneider Publishing Company in 1987. He previously served two terms on the board of directors of the National Association of Sports Commissions and in 2017 was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASC Hall of Fame. Schneider is the former chair of the Destination & Travel Foundation, which was formed by the combination of the Destination Marketing Association International Foundation and the U.S. Travel Association Foundation.

Tyler Schrodt

Founder and CEO, Electronic Gaming Federation

Tyler Schrodt is the founder and CEO of the Electronic Gaming Federation. He started in esports in 2001 as a Counterstrike 1.6 player and tournament organizer and spent six years working in higher education before founding EGF in 2015. Today, EGF oversees a national league for some of the largest colleges in the United States and the first state-endorsed national high school esports league in the country.

Jordan Sherman

Head of Sponsorships and Revenue, Gen.G Esports

Jordan Sherman was recently appointed head of sponsorships and revenue for Gen.G. Esports (formerly KSV eSports), which fields the Seoul Dynasty in the Overwatch League and teams in Clash Royale, League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm and PUBG. Before joining Gen.G, Sherman held a position with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers as director of corporate sponsorships. Previously, he had worked for Major League Baseball for six years, first as a business development manager, then as an account executive for corporate sponsorships. Sherman will look to use his traditional sports experience to drive Gen.G’s revenue through sponsorship sales and business development.

Tobias Sherman

Co-founder, CEO, Foundry IV

Tobias Sherman is co-founder and CEO of the newly formed Foundry IV. In his role as CEO he leads a team making new strides in esports through esports title development, social media, television and new media outlets, and creating and cultivating new business models for the way esports and media are created and consumed. Sherman pioneered digital deals and digital esports production, blending digital and traditional media for the first time with ELEAGUE, and inaugurating fresh ideas and advocacy for popular teams, casters and players. Sherman has continuously driven the industry forward with groundbreaking initiatives such as ELEAGUE in partnership with Turner broadcasting and esports training integration at IMG academy. After opening his own esports talent agency, his company was acquired by WME-IMG. As WME-IMG’s global head of esports, Sherman provided the best opportunities for esports talent while continuing to innovate the explosive industry.

Lenny Silberman

Founder, 4G44 Esports

After serving leadership roles for years at the Pittsburgh JCC, Lenny Silberman joined the staff of the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America (JCC Association) and was the continental director of the JCC Maccabi Games for 14 years. In 2008, he became the CEO of the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds, the largest Jewish day camp system in North America, welcoming 16 independent JCC/YM-YWHA day camps to its three facilities.

Simon Temperley

Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer, Allied Esports International

With more than 20 years of partnering brands with sports and entertainment properties for global agencies such as Edelman, Hakuhodo and Omnicom Group, Simon Temperley is now at the forefront of the booming esports industry. Temperley is the chief revenue and marketing officer of Allied Esports International, a leading developer of esports properties, brands and content with operations in North America, Europe and China. The growing company currently manages a worldwide network of six arenas and two mobile esports 18‐wheel semi‐trucks that serve as competition grounds and content generation hubs. Allied Esports’ flagship location, Esports Arena Las Vegas at the Luxor Hotel and Casino, opened in March 2018 and shortly after hosted one of the industry’s most anticipated events of the year – Ninja Vegas ’18 – starring streaming sensation Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. The event set a new record on Twitch with more than 660,000 concurrent viewers and totaled 2.4 million unique viewers over seven hours.