New Gen Con CEO: Indy is ‘Bedrock’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOn the eve of Gen Con in Indianapolis, the Seattle-based organization has a new chief executive officer. Gaming industry veteran David Hoppe has been Gen Con LLC’s president since May. He says he hopes the city will continue to be at the center of the group’s activities, telling Inside INdiana Business, "The bedrock of what we do is what we do here in Indianapolis every year." Gen Con, which begins Thursday, is sold out and expected to draw more than 60,000 people.
Before joining Gen Con, Hoppe was vice president of marketing and business development for mobile game developer and publisher Blastworks Inc. He also held executive positions with Xbox Live and Microsoft and is a founding member of game development startups Flashlight Creations and Tenacious Games.
Hoppe succeeds current CEO Adrian Swartout, who is retiring after this week’s convention. She has led Gen Con for 10 years. The organization says the event’s annual attendance has more than doubled during Swartout’s tenure.
Gen Con came to Indianapolis in 2003, and is currently signed to be in the city through 2021. The 2016 event saw record-high turnstile attendance of nearly 202,000, and expanded into Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time to accommodate growth. Last year’s convention drew attendees from all 50 states and 60 countries.