Riot’s Naz Aletaha named to 2019 young influentials list

Multi-platform publication Adweek has named Riot Games’ Naz Aletaha to their 2019 Young Influentials list f.

Aletaha spent the early part of her career Sony Pictures Entertainment and Activision Blizzard before joining Riot Games in 2012 where she took over as head of Esports Partnerships at Riot Games.

As Head of Global Esports Partnerships & Business Development, Aletaha is not only in charge of global sponsorships, but also manages strategic partnerships, business development, and media rights for League of Legends Esports.

Aletaha has also been instrumental in helping the League of Legends team shatter numerous esports records, including a viewership milestone that saw 99.6 million unique viewers stream the 2018 World Championship Finals.

In addition to this, Aletaha played a major role in acquiring Mastercard as the first global sponsor for Riot Game’s League of Legends title, a game which encompasses five world leagues, an all-star event, and a world championship.

“[The original deal in 2018] was two years in the making. It was the first global deal for League of Legends and it was a landmark deal not just for Riot but for the industry as a whole.” - Naz Aletaha

Aletaha was the only esports entry on the ‘Young Influentials’ list published by Adweek and was listed alongside other entrants by the likes of soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Emmy award-winning actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Google’s Justin De Graaf.

According to Adweek’s Kristina Feliciano, and author of the list, the Young Influentials was created to identify those who are overachievers in the space. “We endeavor to identify the people who insist on setting the bar even higher—for themselves and their respective industry,” said Feliciano. “Our picks for this year’s list of Young Influentials define what it means to be an overachiever.”