Immortals founder Noah Whinston is stepping down as CEO in favor of a role as executive chairman of the company. Former COO Ari Segal will take over as Immortals CEO.
Whinston founded Immortals in 2015 and has led the company since. Segal joined the esports company in October 2017 as president and COO after leaving an executive role with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. Under Whinston’s leadership, Immortals has fielded investment from sports and entertainment company AEG and entertainment giant Lionsgate. Whinston said his “day-to-day” role at the company will become more closely aligned with his personal esports interests: “Brand and community building, promoting our Immortals values, and developing our corporate strategy as the esports industry continues to grow,” he wrote on Twitter.
Immortals board member Peter Levin told The Esports Observer that Segal was hired to eventually become CEO of the company.
“Excited for the autonomy to elevate Ari Segal and give him more autonomy in his running of the Immortals organization,” Whinston wrote. “If it was anyone else, this decision might have been harder for me, but Ari has been the best CEO in esports long before his title reflected it.”
Whinston said he’ll continue to be fully-involved in Immortals, “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Segal and the rest of the staff. Immortals operates teams in Clash Royale, Arena of Valor, Rainbow 6, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch at this time.
