WME is expanding its gaming and esports division with two new hires and nine new clients.
On the hiring side, the agency has brought in former Twitch staffer Ben Lindemer (pictured above, left) and former Team Liquid exec Jake Schwartz (pictured above, right).
Lindemer spent two years at Twitch, working on influencer relations and brand partnerships within the platform’s Twitch Brand Partnership Studio. Prior to joining Twitch, he was a talent manager at Whistle Sports, and prior to that, he worked on sponsorships and investment strategy at Omnicom‘s esports/gaming group Zero Code.
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He’ll be based out of WME’s New York office, where he’ll “focus on growing the agency’s presence in the space through his deep relationships in the industry,” a rep tells Tubefilter.
Schwartz, as mentioned above, comes from Team Liquid, where he led global partnerships and talent sales. A rep tells Tubefilter Schwartz has expertise in brand partnerships, team sponsorships, esports/gaming activations, and content deals, and that at WME, he’ll “focus on identifying innovative and long-term brand partnerships for the agency’s roster as well as guiding clients from traditional media who have an interest in crossing over into the gaming and esports industry.”
Schwartz will work out of WME’s Beverly Hills office.
“Ben and Jake are great additions to a team that is uniquely positioned to help our clients build out their businesses within gaming and across media, events and products,” WME partner and head of digital Ben Davis says.
At the same time, WME has brought in nine new gaming clients: content creators Alixxa, Autumn Rhodes, Ayytrae, hannahxxrose, and JoeWo; WNBA champ/Team Liquid co-owner Aerial Powers; actor and gamer Khleo Thomas; esports pro and broadcast analyist Sean Gares; and singer-songwriter, gamer, and Starfall Worlds CEO Chrissy Costanza.
