People on the Move for Jan. 7, 2022

Every week The Esports Advocate publishes a newsletter on dedicated to the biggest moves in esports, gaming, and tangritelly connected industries and re-publishes here every Monday.  What follows is our big list of movers and shakers in the industry for the week ending Jan. 7, 2023. Enjoy!

Rest in Peace, Volodymyr Yezho

“We are devastated to share the news that our former teammate, Volodymyr Yezhov, was killed in action near Bakhmut while defending Ukraine. His loss is deeply felt by all who knew him. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time,” the company wrote in a social media post.

For more information on how to donate to his family, you can visit this link.

Matthew Potthoff Exits eUnited

Matthew ”Burns” Potthoff announced on social media (during the holiday break) that he is no longer with eUnited. Potthoff spent more than six-and-a-half years at the North American-based esports organization, joining in June of 2016 as its general manager and later being elevated to the role of general manager and VP of esports.

During his time at eUnited he helped negotiate player and team acquisitions, player trades, managed and coached teams, participated in investment briefings, worked with stakeholders, and played an integral part in the organization winning millions of dollars in prize money.

On Dec. 31, Potthoff formally announced his exit from the company on social media: “It’s officially my last day at eUnited. I’ve had the past 60 days to reflect on my career here. And I can proudly say I wouldn’t have made any choice differently. I’m leaving with 0 regrets and I’m truly thankful for everyone I managed, learned from, and worked with.” Later he posted a video on social media thanking the company and everyone he worked with there during his tenure.

Award-Winning Producer Leaves Esports to Return to Sports

The 11-time Emmy Award winner spent nearly two years at FaZe producing a slate of content including Youtube series, documentaries, scripted series, feature films, and podcasts for the organization.  Like other high-profile executives who jumped from sports to esports, McCullough has decided to return to his roots.

People on the Move

Esports:

• Becker Jung joins T1 as its new League of Legends general manager.
• James Dash is no longer a broadcast talent at League of Legends Championship Series.

• EXCEL promotes Tim Reichert to the role of CEO and Rosenbelle Ganan to the role of director of operations & legal affairs. Former CEO Wouter Sleijffers takes an advisory role to the board.

• XSET Chief Experience Officer and Co-Owner Rob Martin leaves the company for personal reasons.

• Amy Fair Roberts joins XSET as its new director of public relations.

• Former FlyQuest CEO Michael Choi joins Cloud9 as chief product officer.

• Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen joins Astralis as head analyst working with the Counter-Strike team.

• Verona Pinto joins Immortals as its new influencer management coordinator.

• Tundra Esports extends its contract with Dota 2 Head Coach Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling for the 2023 season.

• Luke Burdon exits his role as head of partnerships at Promod Esports.

• Dani Gorri has joined Metasports as chief creative officer.

• Ismail Hagi joins BOOM Esports as a content producer.

• Former Dignitas Senior Video Producer Kyu Lee joins Spodio as director of social media/creative producer.

• Nicole Smith is promoted to senior partnerships operations manager, North America at Twitch.

• Jessie Lassiter is leaving her role as assistant general manager at Method.

Gaming:

• Paul H. Lee joins the Diablo IV team at Blizzard as senior game producer.
• Christian Booth is promoted to the role of global digital marketing manager for Overwatch at Blizzard.

• Stefanie Pirsich leaves Capcom to join YAGER as its new influencer marketing manager.

• Christian Bourdeau left Activision in November to join Netflix as an analytics engineer.

• Wayne Ellard is promoted to managing director EMEA at Light & Wonder.

• Steven Messer leaves his role as content marketing strategist at Digital Extremes.

• Jason Williams joins MicroProse as an executive producer.

• Jamie King joins Kalypso Media Group as its new senior public relations manager.

• Vishal Naik has been promoted to the role of senior game producer at Gametion Technologies.

• Akasha Rose has left game developer Cosmic Champs.

• Olov Redmalm launches a new game studio called Moonhood.

Other: 

• Niles Plante joins Kolex as director of product management.
• Alexandros Gerontikos is promoted to the role of head of sales Europe at Sportradar.

• Vince McMahon returns to the WWE as executive chairman of the board directors.

• Adarsh JKumar is promoted to content manager for Valorant, Overwatch 2, and CS:GO at Sportskeeda.

• Former Ukie exec George Osborn joins Taso Advisory as director of communications.

• Benjamin Stoll leaves FIFA to join the International Ski Federation as director of digital innovation.

• Andie Romness leaves Austin FC to join TXV Partners as head of platform and community.

• David Collins leaves Wasserman to join IMG as senior VP/regional managing director (MENA).
• Ellie Schute is promoted to event executive and team coordinator at Leaders in Sport.