President, Publishing And Esports
CurrentBuilding the future of Sport and Game Publishing for Riot Games
Aug 2024 - Present
AeroLeads people directory · profile
John Needham Email & Phone Number
President, Publishing and Esports | Building the future of sport and game publishing @ Riot Games
at
Riot Games
1 work email found
@riotgames.com
3 phones found area 425 and 408
LinkedIn matched
✓ Verified July 2026
4 data sources
Profile completeness 100%
Current company
Role
President, Publishing and Esports | Building the future of sport and game publishing @ Riot Games
Location
Redmond, Washington, United States
Who is John Needham? Overview
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Quick answer
John Needham is listed as President, Publishing and Esports | Building the future of sport and game publishing @ Riot Games at Riot Games, based in Redmond, Washington, United States. AeroLeads shows a work email signal at riotgames.com, phone signal with area code 425, 408, and a matched LinkedIn profile for John Needham.
John Needham previously worked as President, Publishing and Esports at Riot Games and President, Esports at Riot Games. John Needham holds Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Accounting from San Diego State University.
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Email format at Riot Games
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{first_initial}{last}@riotgames.com
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Profile bio
About John Needham
ǀ Esports ǀ Online Games ǀ PC & Mobile ǀ Free To Play ǀ Subscription ǀ Virtual and Augmented Reality ǀ 4X Emmy WinnerA passionate, driving leader and veteran online gaming executive with experience in every corner of the games industry from Esports to free to play online pc and mobile, to subscription based massively multi-player, to VR / AR, to premium console. Successfully built, grew, restructured, funded, acquired, and sold gaming companies in both large corporate and small startup environments. Expertise in management, operations, business development, finance, fund raising and M&A.
Listed skills include Emerging Technologies, Leadership, Video Games, Online Gaming, and 20 others.
Current workplace
John Needham's current company
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17 roles
John Needham work experience
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Oct 2021 - Aug 2024
Global Head Of Esports
Managing Riot's Esports vision, strategy, and operations for League of Legends, TFT, Valorant, Wild Rift and other R&D games.
Jan 2020 - Oct 2021
Global Head Of League Of Legends Esports
Driving the vision for Global League of Legends Esports and helping to increase the impact of 13 unique LoL regional leagues. Also responsible for major LoL Esports international events: The World Championship, Mid-Season Invitational, and All-Star Event.
Jun 2019 - Jan 2020
Managing Director Of Europe And North America
Responsible for Riot's Publishing and Operating organization across Europe and North America. Also managing the LEC and LCS League of Legends Esports leagues and broadcasting facilities in Berlin and Santa Monica.
Nov 2018 - Jun 2019
Managing Director Of Europe
Responsible for Riot's Publishing and Operating organization across Europe. Also managing the LEC League of Legends Esports league and broadcasting facility in Berlin.
Jun 2017 - Nov 2018
Consultant
Linden Lab
Provided operating and business development consulting for Sansar, the world's leading social VR platform.
Nov 2016 - Mar 2017
Partner - Gm Us Studios
Promoted to Partner and relocated back to Redmond headquarters to oversee Hololens, 3D Creation, Microsoft Casual Games, Age of Empires - Built AR experiences to demonstrate the consumer and commercial value of Hololens and augmented reality - Other unannounced AR/VR strategy and partnership work - Launched Win10 versions of Microsoft Casual Games leading to record level player acquisition and engagement - Oversaw release of Age of Empires: Castle Siege on Win10 and iOS; built the game into a profitable business
Apr 2015 - Sep 2016
Studio Head - Lionhead, Head Of European Publishing
- Rebuilt Lionhead from a traditional console developer to games as a service which led to a successful Fable Legends announce at E3 2014 and closed beta launch Oct 2014 - Positioned Fable Legends as a Win10 hero title generating $30M more internal MSFT funding and headcount - Launched Fable Anniversary (a remastered Fable I) on Xbox 360 and PC and doubled revenue projections - Released Warface, the first free to play first person shooter on Xbox from Crytek - Oversaw Quantum Break (premium Xbox One game from Remedy Entertainment)
Apr 2013 - Apr 2015
Board Member
Sep 2012 - Sep 2014
Ceo
Successfully cleaned up and reorganized Gazillion to be in position to become a top tier free to play premium games developer and publisher - Reengineered and focused Gazillion’s overall strategy and business model - Launched Marvel Super Hero Squad Online MMO (October, 2011) - Consolidated 2 satellite studios in to corporate headquarters and completely restructured company resulting in a 50% reduction in monthly expenditures - Renegotiated licensing relationships both as licensee and licensor saving $20M+ in licensing payments - Successfully led multiple fundraising efforts generating over $30M in capital - Managed the development of a centralized operating and analytics platform including the build out of a large data center on the East Coast - Oversaw core micro transaction strategy for Marvel Heroes and Super Hero Squad Online (free to play)
Mar 2011 - Dec 2012
Advisor
Gamestop Digital Advisory Coucil
Jan 2011 - Dec 2011
Ceo
- Established long term business plan and strategy for Cryptic - Initiated and led fund raising effort which ultimately resulted in Infogrames acquiring Cryptic 12/08 - Successfully launched Champions Online MMO (Sept, 2009) and Star Trek Online MMO (Feb, 2010) - Built a complete online operating platform (Billing, Customer Service, Hosting) to service Cryptic’s MMOs and Atari.com - Developed and implemented conversion of Champions Online from a subscription based gaming service to free to play micro transaction based resulting in 3X revenue growth - Cryptic sold to PerfectWorld 05/11
Jun 2008 - Mar 2011
Cfo And Svp Of Business Development And Operations
- Management of Accounting, Finance, Business Development, International Operations, Customer Service, Quality Assurance/Testing, Facilities, and Human Resources functions at different times during employment at SOE - Extensive experience negotiating IP and technology licenses, third party representation, publishing and third party development deals - Key role in acquisition of two development studios during tenure - Lead financial engineer and negotiator for a $150M slate game production financing fund - Set up SOGA, SOE’s local content development studio in Taiwan - Oversight of all financial compliance functions including reporting, budgeting, forecasting, audits and preparation of multiyear business plans - Established and managed Platform Publishing, an SOE publishing label for third party developed games
Jan 2001 - Jun 2008
Vp Of Finance
- Head of all accounting and finance compliance efforts including financial statement, budgeting/forecasting and multiyear business plan preparation - Financial support for production and content licenses
Jan 1999 - Jan 2001
Director Of Business Development
- Deal support (financial modeling, business plan and presentations) for SPE Television business development activities - Lead analyst role in Telemundo acquisition and distribution of AXN and Super TV cable networks across Asia
Aug 1996 - Jan 1999
Staff/Senior Auditor
Arthur Andersen Llp
- Conducted And Managed Audits Of In The Health Care, Distribution, Restaurant And Banking Industries
Jan 1992 - Apr 1994
2 education records
John Needham education
Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Accounting
San Diego State University
Bachelor'S Degree, Accounting
San Diego State University
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about John Needham
Quick answers generated from the profile data available on this page.
What company does John Needham work for?
John Needham works for Riot Games.
What is John Needham's role at Riot Games?
John Needham is listed as President, Publishing and Esports | Building the future of sport and game publishing @ Riot Games at Riot Games.
What is John Needham's email address?
AeroLeads has found 1 work email signal at @riotgames.com for John Needham at Riot Games.
What is John Needham's phone number?
AeroLeads has found 3 phone signal(s) with area code 425, 408 for John Needham at Riot Games.
Where is John Needham based?
John Needham is based in Redmond, Washington, United States while working with Riot Games.
What companies has John Needham worked for?
John Needham has worked for Riot Games, Linden Lab, Microsoft, Playmesh, Inc., and Gazillion Entertainment.
How can I contact John Needham?
You can use AeroLeads to view verified contact signals for John Needham at Riot Games, including work email, phone, and LinkedIn data when available.
What schools did John Needham attend?
John Needham holds Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Accounting from San Diego State University.
What skills is John Needham known for?
John Needham is listed with skills including Emerging Technologies, Leadership, Video Games, Online Gaming, Monetization, Social Games, Mmo, and Game Development.
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