LIV Golf today announced the official hires of five team General Managers who bring decades of leadership and business experience across the sports, entertainment and media industries. Each team’s General Manager role will manage the operational and strategic aspects of their teams, including daily operations, sponsorship sales, marketing, and player relations.
Boasting extensive backgrounds from baseball, golf, tennis, and esports, these leaders will focus on leveraging their experience to set strategic direction and build sustained growth and long-term success, both on and off the course. On par with LIV Golf’s mission to grow the game globally, these new leaders represent five different countries – Australia, Korea, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States.
Jonas Mårtensson, the former CEO of Mojang Studios – creator of the best-selling video game, Minecraft – joins Cleeks GC, captained by two-time major champion Martin Kaymer. Former Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and Gen.G Esports executive Martin E. Kim takes the reins of Iron Heads GC, captained by Kevin Na.
Long-time SPORTFIVE Senior Vice President of Golf Jeff Koski steers the league’s first expansion team, Legion XIII, captained by two-time major champion Jon Rahm. Following executive stints with ESPN, Yahoo!, IMG, and Untamed Planet, Nick Adams leads fellow Aussie Cam Smith’s Ripper GC. The all-South African Stinger GC, captained by Louis Oosthuizen, is headed up by fellow countryman Richard Glover, currently a Vice President at the ATP Tour.
“Attracting top industry talent not only brings a wealth of business acumen to the table but it is a testament to the long-term growth of LIV Golf,” says LIV Golf’s Executive Vice President, Head of Team Business Operations Katie O’Reilly. “We are committed to delivering a never-before-seen, best-in-class product to golf fans. Today’s news is the next step in realizing our franchise model. We look forward to watching our new team leaders flourish in our ecosystem, while focused on driving brand equity and franchise value in our 13 properties.”