Presented by the Sports Enterprise Management program of the Milgard School of Business
Thursday, March 5
12:15 – 1:25 PM
Carwein Auditorium
Keystone Building
Lunch provided It’s already a $100 billion global industry, and 1/3 of that comes from the Pacific Northwest. Find out what’s happening in this growing field just a few blocks from UW Tacoma! Gary Briggs – CEO, Real Time Strategies (RTS)
RTS is dedicated to making great gaming event happen around the world. Gary combines over 25 years of technology and gaming experience to create an organization that spans the different needs of the esport industry. Starting as an engineer, Gary founded a non-profit gaming charity organization (LANFest) that quickly grew to the largest network of LAN events in the United States and is still a major organization in charity gaming. This passion for gaming brought Gary to Dreamhack as their first Head of Events for North America. After a successful run, Gary decided that it was time to merge his skill of engineering and his passion for gaming into his own company. Under Gary's leadership, RTS has produced professional esports tournaments and broadcasts, such as Zotac Cup North American Finals, TwitchCon-Twitch Rivals. Todd Conley- Executive Director, Highschool.gg
Todd started in eSports as a professional gamer in the late 90's, before it was called eSports. He traveled the world as Gateway 2000's sponsored gamer for a game called Descent. Todd’s desire for competition also led him to play and coach high school, college, and professional tennis. He has an MBA in technology management from the University of Washington. He started a software company that manages professional tennis leagues and tournaments and has used that knowledge to form HighSchool.GG. HighSchool.GG operates high school esports leagues with a focus on teaching kids 21st-century STEM and business skills. Students learn through owning and operating their schools eSports and Streaming franchise. Patrick Barthe - Director of Esports Partnerships, Atomic Infotech
Atomic is a global events agency focused on technical solutions for esports and live video production operating a broadcast studio in downtown Seattle. Atomic has produced events and broadcasts in dozens of countries for some of the biggest brands in technology and gaming. Patrick also consults for a number of esports initiatives in high school, college, military and is a founding member of the PNW Esports Council. Patrick’s experience with competitive tennis allows him to bring valuable insights to esports management. Tom Butler - Cofounder and President of the Professional Battle League
Tom oversees all operations of the Professional Battle League (PBL), a geolocation esports league with teams in 24 regions across North America. The PBL is focused on growing player and fan engagement with Halo, one of the biggest brands in gaming. However, the PBL is game agnostic and is expanding to offer a geolocation league structure for other titles. Coming from a career in organization and leadership development, and a systems theory educational background, Tom is well suited to lead the complex task of running a league. He is currently part of a collaboration to develop the esports management education efforts at the Milgard School of Business at University of Washington Tacoma. |