Super League Gaming Appoints Samir Ahmed as Chief Technology Officer; Announces Grants of Inducement Equity Awards
SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Super League Gaming (“Super League” or the “Company”) (NasdaqCM: SLGG), a leading content and community platform providing competitive and social gameplay experiences across game titles, skill levels and venues, has appointed Samir Ahmed as its chief technology officer effective July 22, 2019.
Ahmed is an accomplished engineer who brings to Super League over a decade of senior leadership experience in the digital entertainment industry. Most recently, he served as head of consumer technology for IMDb, an Amazon company that is the world’s most popular and authoritative website about movies, television and celebrities. While at IMDb, Ahmed oversaw the company’s critical systems, provided strategic direction on technology initiatives, developed project teams, and created and launched a technical solution that resulted in a significant increase in advertising revenue.
Previously, Ahmed was chief architect and vice president of technology at Fandango, where he led the acquisition transition and rebranding of M-GO to FandangoNOW. While in this position, he also provided guidance on various engineering initiatives to ensure the Fandango platform was being developed to support future expansion and scale. Ahmed joined Fandango after the company acquired M-GO, a digital entertainment services company, where he served in several senior roles, including chief technology officer.
“Samir’s wealth of knowledge and expertise in building advanced technological solutions and leading implementation efforts to expand digital entertainment platforms will be an invaluable asset to our management team,” said David Steigelfest, founder and chief product officer of Super League. “The timing is perfect for us to expand our executive team and to take our platform to the next level in terms of developing new and innovative ways to increase the number of touchpoints we have with gamers and rapidly growing esports audiences.”
Commenting on his appointment, Ahmed said: “Esports platforms have proven to be explosive growth engines in the digital entertainment industry as they have made their way to mainstream audiences. Building off this momentum, Super League has created a unique platform that provides an exceptional user experience and is well positioned to capture a substantial portion of the gaming industry – amateur gamers of all ages. I plan to utilize my background in creating, enhancing and scaling various entertainment platforms to ensure Super League is in the best position to continue capitalizing on the industry’s growth going forward.”
Ahmed holds a master’s degree in computer science applied to business services from the University of Rennes 1. He also owns 10 patents related to video technology.
Super League also announced that the independent compensation committee of Super League’s Board of Directors approved of an equity award to Ahmed as an inducement to Ahmed entering into employment with Super League, in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
The inducement awards consist of an option to purchase 93,000 shares of Super League common stock (the “Inducement Awards”) at an exercise price equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of issuance, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Subject to Ahmed’s continued employment with Super League, the Inducement Awards will vest over a three year period at the rate of 1/36th per month in arrears.
About Super League Gaming
Super League Gaming, Inc. (NasdaqCM: SLGG) is a leading esports community and content platform for competitive, everyday gamers, fans and friends of all ages and skill levels. With a focus on positive and inclusive gameplay, Super League enables players to experience their sport like the pros while also developing sportsmanship, communication and team-building skills. Powered by a proprietary technology platform, Super League operates physical and digital experiences in partnership with publishers of top-tier games. Local movie theatres, PC cafes, restaurant and entertainment venues are transformed into esports arenas where gamers compete, socialize, spectate and celebrate the amateur esports lifestyle. Super League’s platform offers unique amateur esports experiences that not only ratchet up the competition for avid gamers, but also attract audiences with elite amateur broadcasts that transform physical venues as well as fuel SuperLeagueTV’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Forward-Looking Statements
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements involve substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements in this communication include, among other things, statements about the potential benefits of the proposed transaction, our possible or assumed business strategies, potential growth opportunities, new products and potential market opportunities. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things; the negative effects of the announcement on the market price of our common stock or on our operating results; unknown liabilities; attracting new customers and maintaining and expanding our existing customer base, our ability to scale and update our platform to respond to customers’ needs and rapid technological change, increased competition on our market and our ability to compete effectively, and expansion of our operations and increased adoption of our platform internationally. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect our financial results are included in the section titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our prospectus dated February 25, 2019, our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 and other filings that we make from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this communication are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.
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Released July 29, 2019