LIV Golf Announces Five New Hires Including Former Minecraft CEO

LIV Golf has announced the appointment of General Managers for five of its teams - Legion XIII, Ripper GC, Stinger GC, Iron Heads GC and Cleeks GC.

Each General Manager will have responsibility for the operational and strategic aspects of their teams, including daily operations, sponsorship sales, marketing and player relations. 

The five come from diverse backgrounds encompassing baseball, golf, tennis and esports, while they also represent five different countries - Australia, Korea, South Africa, Sweden and the US.

One of the most eye-catching of the five appointments sees Swede Jonas Martensson, who was formerly the CEO of Mojang Studios which created hit video game Minecraft, take on the role at Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC. 

“Golf has always been a significant part of my life," he said. "The transition from gaming to golf will be a fun challenge, and I look forward to leveraging my consumer-facing experience in gaming and merchandise to help grow the Cleeks brand and fan engagement.” 

Martin E. Kim was previously an executive at MLB team Los Angeles Dodgers and esports and gaming organization Gen.G Esports, which operates in Korea, China and the US, and he takes the reins at Kevin Na's Iron Heads GC.

He explained he is keen to grow the team's fanbase, which will have a particular focus on Asia. He said: “I am thrilled to be a part of this new era of professional golf, with the goal of building the Iron Heads into a successful global franchise.” 

The Australian contingent of Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC has been boosted by the arrival of former ESPN, Yahoo!, IMG and Untamed Planet executive Nick Adams.

"Given my Aussie heritage, I am driven to grow the game within our part of the world and build towards LIV Golf Adelaide each year," explained Adams. "In my role as GM of the Rippers, I will endeavor to scale the community, the commercial ecosystem around the team, its talent and LIV.” 

In a similar vein, the South African former Vice President of tennis' ATP Tour is the new General Manager of Stinger GC, whose four players are all from the country and which is led by Louis Oosthuizen.

Glover takes up the role in October and said: “I am excited to collaborate with Louis and the rest of the team to build Stinger GC into a sustainable sporting brand – one that has a global reach, whilst also maintaining a deep connection with South Africa." 

Finally, SPORTFIVE Senior Vice President of Golf Jeff Koski became General Manager of Jon Rahm's Legion XIII in January, and will continue work that has included brokering two major team partnerships with Santander Bank and Maestro Dobel Tequila.

LIV Golf’s Executive Vice President, Head of Team Business Operations Katie O’Reilly explained that the appointments represent big steps in LIV Golf’s ambition to grow its team franchise model.

She said: “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.

“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.” 

The final regular event of the LIV Golf season takes place at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago, with the action beginning on 13 September.