Digital sports media business Playmaker has begun trading TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) in Toronto, Canada and also announced the appointment of Jake Cassaday as its new chief operating officer.
Playmaker is trading under the ticker symbol PMKR on the TSXV as part of plans to expand its presence in the wider North American market.
The listing comes after Playmaker in April finalized its first acquisition in the form of Futbol Sites, a digital sports media group that connects brands and sports betting operators to fans across Latin America and the US. Playmaker said it will now seek further acquisitions as part of is wider expansion plans.
This strategy also saw the business bring in Cassaday as chief operating officer. Cassaday was previously a partner at Relay Ventures, a North American venture capital fund and the lead investor behind Playmaker
Cassaday, who spent six years at Relay Ventures, has been heavily involved with Playmaker since its inception, helping build its strategy, raise capital and carry out initial acquisitions.
He will join the Playmaker management team alongside chief executive Jordan Gnat, chief financial officer Mike Cooke and executive vice president Federico Grinberg, while Maryann Turcke, formerly COO of the National Football League, serves as chairman.
“To be joining Playmaker, fresh on the heels of a go-public, and ready to scale through both organic and acquisitive growth, is hugely exciting for me,” Cassaday said. “Playmaker connects my passions for sports, technology, and media, and allows me to leverage my experience to support the Playmaker growth engine and build a lasting company in the sports media arena.”
Gnat added: “We will leverage our experienced management team and exceptional board of directors to bring great value to our shareholders. These are exciting times in the early life of Playmaker.
“Our mission is to build an ecosystem of assets that will provide sports fans and our clients with outsized value. We are beginning from an already-profitable position, and now we welcome Jake Cassaday as chief operating officer.”