Game industry veteran David Hoppe will join Gen Con as President and take over the top management role in May, the company announced.  Hoppe will replace Adrian Swartout, who will retire after ten years as President, then CEO.  Swartout and Hoppe will work together for the next four months, until Gen Con 50 in August. 

Swartout led the company out of the turmoil of litigation and a Chapter 11 filing (see “Gen Con Plan Approved”), and doubled attendance over the past ten years.  After she steps down as CEO, she will continue on the board of directors. 

Hoppe comes to the company from mobile games developer and publisher Blastworks, Inc., where he was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development.  Hoppe also had stints at Xbox Live and Microsoft, and at Flashlight Creations.  He also held several positions in the hobby games business, including Senior Vice President at Wizards of the Coast, Senior Consultant at Upper Deck, and Chief Operating Officer at Tenacious Games. 

Hoppe was happy to be back in the hobby game space.  “I’m ecstatic to return to the hobby game industry and join the incredibly talented team at Gen Con,” he said.

Swartout pointed to his experience in the announcement.  “David brings a wealth of game industry experience and a strong managerial skillset to the Gen Con organization,” she said.  “As our organization has scaled rapidly, efficient management of our growth has become an increasingly important business goal, and David is an ideal leader to help Gen Con manage the continuing evolution of our business.”