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The AESA Presents...

The AESA Esports Masterclass Speaker Series

Levelling Up

Esports

In Australia

Australia’s first structured, free-to-attend esports masterclass speaker series. The AESA Esports Masterclass Speaker Series is an initiative by the AESA in support of its aim to lead a collaborative approach to support the sustainable growth of esports in Australia.

Esports is the global entertainment and sports phenomenon taking the world by storm. The Australian esports industry is just beginning with sporting bodies, media, brands, and government all beginning to take interest.

The Esports Masterclass Speaker Series is hosted by the AESA in partnership with PwC Australia and Strategy&, and the support of ACS. This four part free-to-attend speaker series will bring together industry and experts to unpack some of the biggest challenges facing Australia’s emerging esports industry. By hosting the speaker series AESA hopes to mature and enhance the growth of the esports sector in Australia for the benefit of the entire Australian community participating in esports today.

Who should attend?

The speaker series is designed for current industry operators, emerging stakeholders corporates and agencies, investors, sporting organisations, and policy makers who wish to learn, network, and level up esports in Australia.

Each session will have a specific focus suited to some cohorts more than others. Later sessions will examine issues of law and policy, IP, tax, governance, industry innovation, and long term industry strategy.

Event Partners

 

Session details

    Session 1 Closed

    The realities of commercialising esports in Australia

    Tuesday, 7 May 2019

    Session description

    PwC estimates the global esports market to be worth nearly AU$1bn, with sophisticated teams, leagues, and dedicated stadium infrastructure. But is esports making money? And for who? This session looks at the realities of commercialising esports, generating revenue, and the reasons why some companies are starting to make serious, long term investments into the sector.

    Hear from Lee Machen, Global GM of Gaming & VR/AR Sales, Intel, Steve Wherrett, Principle, One5fifteen Consulting, and Dave Shurey, Director, Strategy&. Each speaker will share their industry insights and perspective, and then participate in an open Q&A panel.

    Schedule

    Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow check in and seating.

    12:00pm

    Event start

    12:00pm

    A look into Intel’s esports strategy, the case for IEM, and why Intel is chasing esports
    Lee Machen, Global GM of Gaming & VR/AR Sales, Intel

    12:20pm

    How to define value, understanding return on investment and developing true partnerships in esports
    Steve Wherrett, Founder, One5Fifteen Consulting

    12:40pm

    Esports loots tables - An examination of the potential for value pools in esports
    Dave Shurey, Director, Strategy&

    1:00pm

    Speaker Q&A

    1:30pm

    Event end

    Speakers

    <strong>Lee Machen</strong>

    Lee Machen

    Lee Machen has over 17 years experience with Intel, and is currently their General Manager for global Gaming and VR/Sales. Lee has worked across the business and seen esports grow from its earliest beginnings to the phenomenon it is today. Intel expect over 7,500 a day to attend the Sydney Intel Extreme Masters, now in its third year of operation. Lee will share his insights from Intel and the case for how Intel has managed to harness the popularity of esports into a commercialisation strategy.

    <strong>Steve Wherrett</strong>

    Steve Wherrett

    Principle, One5Fifteen Consulting

    Steve Wherrett has worked in the Australian gaming industry for over 23 years and has held notable roles with Sony, as Head of Sponsorship, Promotions, Events and Trade Marketing for 9 years and then with Microsoft as a Head of Partnerships for nearly 4 years. In 2018 Steve launched his own consultancy, One5Fifteen. Steve will talk about how to define value in esports, measuring return, and why it is important to develop true partnerships, rather than just sponsorship in this new space.

    <strong>Dave Shurey</strong>

    Dave Shurey

    Director
    Strategy&

    Dave Shurey has over 12 years experience in strategy consulting working with an array of telecommunications companies, sporting organisations, betting operators, media producers and advertisers. Dave will share his insights on the landscape of esports, what the typical cost and revenue pools look like and how they differ from traditional sports. He will also share some insight into the emerging strategic positions companies can take to face into the esports market.

    Event details

    Date & time

    Tues, 7 May 2019
    12:00pm - 1:30pm

    Location

    Australian Computer Society
    Tower 1
    100 Barangaroo Avenue
    Barangaroo NSW 2000

    Session 2 Closed

    Legal and governance challenges for esports in Australia

    Wednesday, 28 August 2019

    Session description

    Esports’ rapid growth and commercialisation opportunities also bring about legal issues in relation to governance, intellectual property rights, broadcast rights, integrity, and gambling. These are all matters that traditional sports deal with, but the nature of esports brings a whole new dimension. This session looks at some of the legal and governance challenges for esports and how these may play out as it grows in Australia.

    Hear from Darren Kwan, AESA President; Hamish MacDonald, Advisor, Safe and Ethical Sport, Sport Australia; Jason Whybrow, A/g Director, National Integrity of Sport Unit, Office for Sport; and Sylvia Ng, Director, Legal, PwC.

    Schedule

    Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow check in and seating.

    12:00pm

    Event start

    12:00pm

    The role of peak bodies, global best practice and a possible framework for the Australian esports industry.
    Darren Kwan, AESA President

    12:20pm

    The integrity landscape for esports: threats and opportunities
    Hamish MacDonald, Advisor, Sport Australia and Jason Whybrow, A/g Director, National Integrity of Sport Unit, Office for Sport

    12:40pm

    Intellectual property and integrity challenges in the esports landscape
    Sylvia Ng, Director, Legal & Regulatory, PwC

    1:00pm

    Speaker Q&A

    1:30pm

    Event end

    Speakers

    <strong>Darren Kwan</strong>

    Darren Kwan

    Darren is the Founding President of the AESA and a passionate advocate for esports. Darren leads the AESA with nearly 20 years of esports experience that includes competition, advocacy, development, and international industry representation. Darren will share his insights on best practice esports governance gained from over 7 years touring international esports markets.

    <strong>Hamish MacDonald</strong>

    Hamish MacDonald

    Advisor, Safe and Ethical Sport, Sport Australia

    Hamish MacDonald is an Advisor with Sport Australia's Safe and Ethical Sport Unit. Sport Australia is Australia’s primary national sports administration and advisory agency, and the cornerstone of a wide-ranging sports system. On behalf of the Australian Government, Sport Australia plays a central leadership role in the development and operation of the Australian sports system, administering and funding innovative sport programs and providing leadership, coordination and support for the sport sector.

    <strong>Jason Whybrow</strong>

    Jason Whybrow

    Acting Director, National Integrity of Sport Unit, Office of Sport

    Jason Whybrow is the Acting Director of the National Integrity of Sport Unit, Office of Sport. The National Integrity of Sport Unit provides national oversight, monitoring and coordination of efforts to protect the integrity of sport in Australia from threats of match-fixing, doping and other forms of corruption.

    <strong>Sylvia Ng</strong>

    Sylvia Ng

    Director, Legal & Regulatory, PwC

    Sylvia is a Director in PwC’s Legal - Regulatory team, with over 10 years of experience advising and representing clients in competition and consumer protection, privacy, sports law and other regulatory compliance matters. Sylvia will share her insights on the intellectual property and integrity challenges in esports when compared with traditional mainstream sports, what this means for stakeholders in the industry, and share some thoughts on potential regulatory impacts for the esports industry in Australia.

    Event details

    Date & time

    Wed, 28 August 2019
    12:00pm - 1:30pm

    Location

    Australian Computer Society
    Tower 1
    100 Barangaroo Avenue
    Barangaroo NSW 2000

    Register To Attend

    Building a profile in esports: structuring players, personalities, and products

    Monday, 21 October 2019

    Session description

    Success in esports is proving to be as much one’s ability to win tournaments, as it is to build a sustainable, well-structured brand. For many Australian participants, this is further complicated by the fact the majority of revenue pools lie offshore. As participants learn to build revenue, they must also consider its sources. This session takes us through that journey by looking at the hows of building a profile, to implications of having built one, and then to ensuring its sustainability as we move through 2019 and beyond.

    Hear from Grace Watkins, Co-Founder, Click Management; Ben Neumann, Director, Tax, PwC; and Dominic Remond, CEO, Gfinity Australia.

    Schedule

    Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow check in and seating.

    12:00pm

    Event start

    12:00pm

    Building a gaming & esports profile, and what it means to be an influencer
    Grace Watkins, Co-Founder, Click Management

    12:20pm

    A dollar saved, a dollar earned - understanding tax implications for players
    Ben Neumann, Director, Tax, PwC

    12:40pm

    Insights from a league operator - what it means to be a business or team in esports in 2019
    Dominic Remond, CEO, Gfinity Australia

    1:00pm

    Speaker Q&A

    1:30pm

    Event end

    Speakers

    <strong>Grace Watkins</strong>

    Grace Watkins

    Co-Founder, Click Management

    Grace is a Co-Founder and Director of Click Management, who represent some of the worlds biggest online gaming personalities. Click’s talent generate more than 700+ million views online per month, and their O&O content channels have over 3 million followers worldwide. Prior to commencing Click Management, Grace was a consultant for PwC Australia, and worked alongside some of Australia's largest listed businesses in the entertainment and media industry. Grace will share her experience on creating successful content channels, forming meaningful brand partnerships, and ways that creators and players monetise in gaming.

    <strong>Ben Neumann</strong>

    Ben Neumann

    Director, Global Mobility Tax, PwC

    Ben is a Director in PwC Global Mobility Tax team with over 19 years experience in advising companies on the Australian and US tax implications associated with their mobile workforce. For the past 10 years, he has specialised in the world of international sport and entertainment, advising clients (including foreign and Australian sporting clubs, national associations, touring entities, bands and promoters) in relation to the Australian tax consequences associated with holding events/competing in Australia as well the implications associated with Australians completing offshore. Ben will share his thoughts on the implications on players and teams on the rapid rise of eports with particular focus on the tax implications as well as the concept of financial wellness for the players.

    <strong>Dominic Remond</strong>

    Dominic Remond

    CEO, Gfinity Australia

    Dominic is the CEO of Gfinity Australia, creator of the Gfinity Elite Series, Australia’s first city based esports league. Dominic has also held senior management roles with the Sydney Sixers and Cricket NSW, Sony Pictures, SmithKline Beecham and SC Johnson. Dominic will speak to his experience operating Australia’s most high-profile professional esports league, and what it means to be a business or team operating in esports in 2019 and beyond.

    Event details

    Date & time

    Mon, 21 October 2019
    12:00pm - 1:30pm

    Location

    Australian Computer Society
    Tower 1
    100 Barangaroo Avenue
    Barangaroo NSW 2000

    Details coming soon

    NOTE ABOUT REGISTRATION: Attendees must register with their full names to be eligible to attend and may be requested to produce identification to be granted access to the venue on the day.

    Learn More

    What is esports?

    Esports is commonly refered to as the competetive side to playing video games, it is played by all kinds of people and it is Australia’s next big sport.

    Our Policies

    Our policies are in place to ensure the integrity of esports, protection of athletes, an inclusive environment and good governance.

    Policies
    What we do to support Australian esports

    Through collaboration, participation and support we provide advocacy, governance, promotion and representation of the Australian esports industry.

    Committees

    What can the Australian Esports Association do for you?

    Get in touch with us
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