The NBA team Indiana Pacers announced last week that Robert “Cody” Parrent is to join the organisation as their Director of Esports Operations.
Robert will report directly to Kelly Krauskopf, the Senior Vice President of the Pacers. The Pacers have yet to make a huge move in esports, yet are one of the 17 confirmed NBA teams who are set to participate in the NBA 2K League’s inaugural season which gets underway next year.
Whilst Parrent is not an overly familiar name in the esports industry, he brings a wealth of business experience and work in and around the esports space. In the business world, he spent time at Berry Plastics Corp., as an IMS Business Analyst and recently was a Co-Owner of Blue Commerce LLC, a company engaged in market research and Ecommerce. The release also adds that Parrent was an active member of the Evansville community, where he attended university. He was an Associate Head Coach with the Evansville Soccer Club and volunteered with a variety of organisations and charities.
“Cody brings solid competitive gaming experience in many esports titles such as Halo, CS:GO, FIFA, and NBA 2K,” said Krauskopf. “He has built numerous connections in the NBA 2K community through his background in developing the 2KLab which focuses on analysing data from the 2K video game franchise in order to give players an edge over the competition. We are fortunate to have him leading our operation.”
“I am honored to become a member of the Pacers team and look forward to developing a first-class esports operation here in Indianapolis,” said Parrent, who earned both a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. “I have been involved in the esports community since 2006 and am passionate about being a part of the movement of competitive gaming into the mainstream.”
Esports Insider says: More and more appointments are now emerging as esports initiatives gather pace out in the States. We’re looking forward to the league getting underway next year.
