Gen Con Hires Industry Veteran David Hoppe to Leadership Position; Adrian Swartout to Retire after Gen Con 50
Seattle Washington (PRWEB) March 13, 2017 -- Gen Con, North America’s longest running and best-attended tabletop game convention, has announced that game industry veteran David Hoppe will join the company’s executive team as President. As such, Hoppe will take over the management of Gen Con’s operations at the company’s Seattle office, beginning in May 2017.
“I'm ecstatic to return to the hobby game industry and join the incredibly talented team at Gen Con,” said David Hoppe, Gen Con President. “Gen Con has accomplished so much over the past 50 years, and I'm looking forward to working with Peter Adkison, Adrian Swartout, and the entire Gen Con team to continue making the ‘Best Four Days in Gaming’ even better for sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, and most importantly, the 60,000+ attendees who make Gen Con a truly global gaming community.”
After 10 years of leadership, in which Gen Con’s annual attendance has more than doubled, Swartout will step down as CEO following this August’s Gen Con 50 event. Hoppe and Swartout will work together to jointly manage the company and ensure a smooth leadership transition throughout the next four months. Subsequently, Swartout will continue to serve on Gen Con’s Board of Directors.
“David brings a wealth of game industry experience and a strong managerial skillset to the Gen Con organization,” said Adrian Swartout. “As our organization has scaled rapidly, efficient management of our growth has become an increasingly important business goal, and David is an ideal leader to help Gen Con manage the continuing evolution of our business.”
David Hoppe is currently Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Blastworks, Inc. a mobile games developer and publisher with operations in North America and Europe. At Blastworks, David oversees performance marketing, analytics, data science, and business development. Prior to Blastworks, David spent five years as a Director of Business Operations for Xbox Live and Microsoft, as well as being a founding member of two game development startups (Flashlight Creations & Tenacious Games). He also served as a consultant to Upper Deck Entertainment, and from 1995 to 2002 was SVP of Organized Play, as well as Brand Management at Wizards of the Coast during the meteoric rise of both the Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon trading card game franchises.
About Gen Con
Gen Con LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction, and adventure game convention in North America, Gen Con, The Best Four Days in Gaming!™. Acquired in 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, the company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Celebrating 50 years in 2017, Gen Con 50 will be sponsored by Mayfair Games, Paizo, Inc., and Rio Grande Games.
Stacia Kirby, Kirby Communications, +1 206-363-1492, [email protected]
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