Major League Gaming has done a good job dominating the business of competitive video game leagues. But today, the company’s chief executive quit over a difference of opinion in how the company should grow.
Matthew Bromberg, who ran the New York company for four and a half years, will be replaced by founder Sundance DiGiovanni, who will serve as interim CEO. Bromberg and DiGiovanni said that company leaders had a difference of opinion about how fast to grow the company.
“We have had an extraordinary run of growth and success over the last four years,” said Bromberg. “There was a feeling among the founders that it was time to scale back our ambitions and grow more slowly. That isn’t in my nature, and was not my plan. We all agreed it was best to find a new CEO to execute this strategy.”
DiGiovanni, who was previously chief brand officer, said that his goal is to focus on profitable growth on a consistent basis and to grow the company at a slower pace. He added that the departure with Bromberg was amicable, despite the disagreement.
“We had a recent board meeting with divergent opinions about the focus for the company,” DiGiovanni said. “We are not changing the plan. It’s just a change in the velocity at which we are attempting to travel.”
The company runs both online and physical location video game tournaments for hardcore game fans. It has more than 11 million monthly unique visitors for its online game competitions. It also draws an average of 10,000 people to the Pro Circuit events that are held live across the country. DiGiovanni said the company would focus on delivering quality tournaments for partners such as EA Sports, ESPN, Doritos and others.
The company was founded in 2002 and raised more than $42.5 million. It has 55 employees and has acquired a number of smaller rivals. It has also outlasted competition such as the CPL, DirecTV, and others.
DiGiovanni said the company is close to being consistently profitable and would focus on that. While he said the appointment to CEO is on an interim basis, he might want to be the permanent CEO if asked to do so. He said he didn’t want the CEO search to become a distraction for the business. Bromberg will be an advisor to Oak Investment Partners, which is MLG’s primary investor.