Learfield IMG College has a new vice president of esports. Eric Hartness, a former VP of marketing for Bandai Namco, is the first to be named to the newly created position at the company. Learfield IMG College, which made its way into the college esports space eight months ago, just crowned its first-ever college Madden national champion as part of the Level Next college esports league launched with Electronic Arts which concluded last Sunday.
According to the company, Hartness will focus on “developing and expanding the company’s esports strategy and related inventory offerings.” Hartness does bring with him three decades of diverse esports, business and marketing expertise coupled with “a strong marketing background with a proven track record leading teams to launch dozens of hit game titles and produce several global esports tournaments at Bandai Namco, Amazon, Electronic Arts and ReKTGlobal.”
Hartness is the former vp, marketing for Bandai Namco and the former head of marketing for Amazon Game Studios. Additionally, he was vp, marketing for Electronic Arts, where he led global product marketing for Tiger Woods, Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix, The Simpsons, Dead Space, and The Godfather I and II. While at EA, Hartness held other high-level marketing roles involving strategic initiatives supporting Madden NFL and EA SPORTS Fantasy Football.
