LIV Golf has announced the hires of five team General Managers. Each team’s General Manager will manage their team’s daily operations, sponsorship sales, marketing, and player relations. Jonas Mårtensson joins Cleeks GC, captained by two-time major champion Martin Kaymer. Martin E. Kim takes the reins of Iron Heads GC, captained by Kevin Na. Jeff Koski joins the league’s first expansion team, Legion XIII, captained by two-time major champion Jon Rahm. Nick Adams joins Ripper GC, captained by Cameron (Cam) Smith. Finally, Richard Glover joins Stinger GC, captained by Louis Oosthuizen.
Jonas Mårtensson was the former CEO of Mojang Studios, the video game developer of Minecraft. Before Mojang, the Swede was a co-founder of the Swedish apparel brand Happy Socks as well as the founder of Mobilebet.com.
LIV Golf has been a controversial golf league since its start in many ways, as many believe it to be sportswashing to cover up Saudi Arabia’s appalling human rights record. Players in the LIV league are banned from playing in the competing PGA tour. One year ago, Adidas sued LIV Golf for trademark infringement.
Kim has spent five years leading commercial revenue and strategic partnerships for e-sports and gaming organization Gen.G Esports. Previously, he spent eight years in professional baseball, working for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball in multiple roles.
Koski, the long-time Senior Vice President of Golf at Sportfive, joined Legion XIII, the newest LIV Golf League team, back in January.
Adams has worked at the world’s renowned organizations, including ESPN, WME/IMG, Yahoo! and Sony Music. He has also formerly served as Chief Revenue Officer of Untamed Planet, a gaming-focused entertainment company dedicated to conservation.
Glover is Vice President at the ATP Tour, the global men’s professional tennis governing body. His career also includes five years as the CEO of Tennis South Africa and roles with Frontiers Sport and Entertainment, Cricket South Africa, and Arsenal F.C.
