Los Angeles, Berlin – November 5, 2024 – GRID, a specialized data and technology platform powering the esports ecosystem, betting, and media, announces the appointment of John Knauss as its Executive Vice President to lead the company’s game developer data solutions’ vertical.
John joins GRID after nearly a decade at Riot Games, where he spearheaded the creation and leadership of the Competitive Data Programs for both League of Legends and VALORANT Esports, playing a pivotal role in establishing the technologies and partnerships that made Riot the first game developer to officially integrate in-game data into its core strategy.
Knauss brings over 15 years of experience in leadership, data product development, marketing, and infrastructure management. In his new role, Knauss will lead GRID’s Gaming Data Solutions, providing comprehensive esports solutions to manage tournaments, data distribution, monetization, and integrity. He will also oversee GRID’s existing partnerships with game developers including Riot Games, Ubisoft, KRAFTON and GRID’s expansion into providing game publishers with in-game data infrastructure and capabilities previously limited to only the largest titles with established esports.
John Knauss leads the GRID North America team, which earlier this year welcomed Julian Schwartz as VP of Business Development (formerly of YouTube Gaming) and Tim Sevenhuysen, Senior Business Data Consultant (previously Director of Esports Analytics at 100 Thieves).
John Knauss commented:
Almost ten years at Riot Games, much of it spent expanding esports data strategy and building data-focused teams, showed over and over the value of leveraging in-game data for powering deeper insights, stronger engagement, and improved sustainability for games. Moritz, myself, and the entire GRID team share a common vision for bringing those industry-leading capabilities to a broader audience of game developers. GRID’s culture, approach to in-game data, and deep focus on creating value for developers, players, and the ecosystem, is a perfect fit, and I’m excited for the future we want to create.
Moritz Maurer, CEO of GRID, added:
John’s passion for games and his extensive experience at Riot Games, where he was instrumental in establishing data strategies for global titles, make him the perfect fit to lead GRID’s expansion into comprehensive data solutions for game developers. Bringing John on board is a big step toward accelerating our ambitions beyond esports to reach the broader gaming landscape. Together, we’re setting out to empower developers, players, and partners across an expanding ecosystem and create the standard for data in gaming.
