Johanna Faries reportedly set to lead both CDL & OWL as Head of Leagues Activision Blizzard[jwplayer 91I9RIGm] Following a resignation by the Overwatch League\u2019s commissioner, Peter Vlastelica, Activision Blizzard have apparently named the Call of Duty League\u2019s commissioner, Johanna Faries, as a new \u201cHead of Leagues,\u201d overseeing both esports. In 2019, the Overwatch League\u2019s first commissioner, Nate Nanzer, resigned in order to head up Fortnite\u2019s burgeoning esports scene as Epic Games\u2019 Head of Competitive (before moving on to become their Head of Global Partnerships). In 2020, the OWL\u2019s second commissioner, Vlastelica, resigned just before the league\u2019s Grand Finals. Now, instead of announcing a third commissioner for Overwatch esports, Activision Blizzard are reportedly set to make the Call of Duty League\u2019s commissioner, Faries, the head of both esports leagues under a new title: Head of Leagues. This comes after she headed up a very successful, albeit tumultuous, inaugural CDL season. As reported by The Esports Observer\u2019s Kevin Hitt, league sources expect Faries to be announced as Head of Leagues on October 12. The role will have her oversee team and broadcast operations while also serving as administrator for both of Activision Blizzard\u2019s esports. In another shuffling of responsibilities, current Chief Commercial Officer Brandon Snow is also expected to take on more management of the leagues\u2019 marketing and analytics. All of this news comes during the CDL offseason and amidst the OWL\u2019s 2020 Playoffs. In a statement about Vlastelica\u2019s resignation, the overruling company confirmed that the former CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports and OWL commissioner \u201cwill transition from his role in ABE to focus on new entrepreneurial ventures on behalf of Activision Blizzard, following the Overwatch League Grand Finals. He was fundamental in building the company\u2019s esports business and driving the industry forward, and we thank Pete for his contributions and impact on our business over the last four years.\u201d As for Faries\u2019 experience leading into the role, the new joint commissioner is a former Harvard University graduate who spent 11 years with the NFL, finishing as the Vice President of Club Business Development after five-plus years as the VP of Marketing Strategy and Fan Development. Subsequently, she joined Activision Blizzard as the Call of Duty Esports commissioner, a role in which she drew tremendous praise from owners, most notable from Hector \u2018H3CZ\u2019 Rodriguez, and players alike in an impressive inaugural season for the CDL. Now, she brings a wealth of experience to both leagues ahead of pivotal 2021 seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Johanna Faries reportedly set to lead both CDL & OWL as Head of Leagues Activision Blizzard[jwplayer 91I9RIGm] Following a resignation by the Overwatch League\u2019s commissioner, Peter Vlastelica, Activision Blizzard have apparently named the Call of Duty League\u2019s commissioner, Johanna Faries, as a new \u201cHead of Leagues,\u201d overseeing both esports. In 2019, the Overwatch League\u2019s first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}