Riot Games appoints new CEO; to transition at the end of 2023

Riot Games, one of the biggest names in the gaming industry, has recently announced that A. Dylan Jadeja, currently serving as the company's Global President, will be succeeding Nicolo Laurent as Riot’s next CEO later this year. Nicolo, who has spent the past 14 years in leadership roles at Riot, including six as CEO, is stepping down to focus on his family.

Founded in 2006, Riot Games and its headquarters in Los Angeles, is known for developing popular games like League of Legends and VALORANT. As CEO, Dylan Jadeja will be responsible for shaping the company's direction and strategy, and will be tasked with maintaining Riot's position as a leader in the gaming industry.

Riot Games changes leadership

Dylan, who first joined Riot in 2011 as Chief Financial Officer and added Chief Operating Officer to his role in 2014, has been one of the key leaders in crafting Riot’s strategy and driving the company’s culture forward. When Riot's founders transitioned to co-chair roles in 2017, Dylan was named President of Riot.

Nicolo Laurent, in his message to Rioters said that he was "fortunate enough to have a long and amazing journey with Riot," but that it was time for him to step down from his CEO role to focus on his family. He acknowledged that the personal trade-offs he made for his career had been tough, and that he and his family were ready to rebalance. However, he also made it clear that he would stay at Riot as an advisor, doing everything he could to help the company down the line.

He also went on to describe the process that led to Dylan being chosen as the next CEO. He said that Riot had reached a scale where they needed to undertake a more extensive assessment of their needs and of candidates. For the first time in Riot’s history, they looked both inside and outside the company to find the very best person for this role and for Riot’s next chapter. The succession planning process lasted about three years, and they met with a lot of incredible candidates. When it came time to compare notes, everyone – the Board, the advisors, the founders, the executive search firm, and himself – all had Dylan at the very top of their list. It was unanimous.

Nicolo was extremely complimentary of Dylan and described him as a natural leader who would do anything to encourage the company's creative talent to produce their best work. Additionally, he said that he thinks boldly and has always supported the counterintuitive decisions that have allowed Riot to raise the bar for what is possible for players. Finally, Nicolo emphasized Dylan's deep love for Riot's DNA and culture. Dylan understands what makes Riot unique, namely the great Rioters and great teams who love players and love games, and he'll make sure the business keeps improving so it can always be its best.