Global esports organisation Gen.G announced that it has appointed Chris Park as chief executive officer. Gen.G has also announced that co-founder Kevin Chou will assume the role of executive chairman.
“We are extremely excited for Chris to join Gen.G and lead us to new heights. He has a brilliant mind for growth and innovation, and we look forward to him applying his great skill set with Gen.G. We have big goals for 2019 and beyond, and Chris is the right person to lead us into the future,” said Kevin Chou, executive chairman for Gen.G.
Park comes from a long and distinguished career in sports business leadership and building innovative brands, most recently from Major League Baseball where he served since 2015, most recently as Executive vice president, product & marketing.
Park will be setting and guiding the day-to-day execution of the brand’s strategy in a close partnership with Chou, and as chairman, Chou will remain active in leading the Board of the company he founded. During his tenure with Major League Baseball, Park paid close attention as esports grew into a formidable counterpart to the more traditional sports leagues. He’ll now play an important role in the ongoing development of the esports business as CEO of Gen.G.
“I can’t express how thrilled I am about this new journey into the esports world with Gen.G. Having spent years with a traditional sports league, it was evident that competitive gaming was booming — well now it’s here and here to stay. I look forward to continuing to build an esports powerhouse in Gen.G, especially here in the US and specifically LA, setting the bar for what a gold standard organisation should look like,” said Chris Park, chief executive officer for Gen.G.
Park will relocate from New York City to Gen.G’s new headquarters in Los Angeles, while also spending time in Seoul, Korea as part of his onboarding. In other organisational moves, Kent Wakeford is transitioning to vice chairman.
“Chris possesses the vision, creativity and work-ethic to level up everything we do here at Gen.G. Given his experience, understanding of the sports business, and passion for competition, we know that Chris will make an effortless transition. I speak for everyone here at Gen.G when I say he’s a perfect fit for our organisation,” said Arnold Hur, chief growth officer, Gen.G esports.
Gen.G is coming off a banner year in 2018, as it announced a renewal with NETGEAR’s Nighthawk Pro Gaming, brought on the legendary Chris Bosh as Player Management Advisor, and formed an all-female Fortnite team. Competitively, Gen.G’s PUBG and Heroes of the Storm teams claimed championships, while the Seoul Dynasty and League of Legends teams are poised for big years in 2019.
