In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to worldwide acclaim.
The game has since gone on to become the most played PC game in the world and an essential driver of the explosive growth of esports.
In the years since, Riot has launched additional games, new esports, music, live experiences, and, most recently with the launch of “Arcane,” TV.
At the center of everything is our community of players and our desire to reward their fandom by continually improving the player experience.
We believe that games will become the culturally dominant form of entertainment and audiences will want to engage with their favorite IP across immersive, interactive, leanback, and in-real life experiences.
We’re expanding Riot’s Entertainment (“REG”) team to bring our characters, stories, and worlds to players around the world in high impact ways.
This team will imagine and develop new experiences and products across Film/TV, Animation, Narrative Driven Games, Consumer Products, and beyond.
We will foster collaboration with Games, Esports, and Publishing teams to deliver rich, cross-product experiences that deepen players’ and fans’ connections to our IP and to each other.
To support these ambitious efforts and build a truly global Film and TV studio, we are seeking a leader to help us effectively partner with key stakeholders in the industry. As the Global Head of Business Affairs , you will report to the REG’s Chief Content Officer and will oversee all deal-making across all of Riot’s Live Action Film, TV, and Animation, globally.
You will play a critical role in designing, building, and scaling REG’s Film and TV studio, ensuring the “how” and “with whom” we partner enables us to execute at the highest-level for audiences.
This leader will work closely with the core Film/TV teams (Development, Production, Post), REG’s other product teams (Music, CPG, Games), and colleagues across Riot (IP Strategy, Games, Esports, Global Business Development) to ensure collaboration in our IP is seamless to players, regardless of product.
You will use your comprehensive knowledge of the Film and TV landscape and trusted industry relationships to adeptly educate internal and external parties to the unique dynamics of each partnership and effectively advocate for the optimal outcome.
In addition, you will work closely with Riot’s Central Legal team to ensure that Riot’s IP/Rights are protected and our productions are safe, while creating space for world class creative expression.
Responsibilities: Development and Production:
- Lead and supervise all above-and-below the line deals across REG’s Film and TV projects. Includes development, packaging, and production of features and series, as well as holding/overall deals with filmmakers, writers, and producers
- Structure, negotiate, and draft term sheets and short-form agreements
- Engage Riot Legal and outside counsel to ensure long-form agreements reflect underlying business terms
- Devise deal frameworks/templates in close collaboration with IP Strategy, REG leadership, and Riot Legal that protect Riot while empowering creative partners
- Foster close coordination with Physical Production and Production Finance to maintain continuity across the project lifecycle, secure best-in-class resources, make timely payments, and enable accurate reporting
- Educate and advise key internal stakeholders to latest market terms and potential implication for REG; synthesize existing agreements in response to business questions and provide insight and analysis to support deal-making efforts across other Riot divisions
- Build familiarity with other REG products (Music, CP, Games) to unlock complicated partnerships and unique, multi-product expressions
Distribution and Monetization:
- Inform and shape go-to-market strategy for our projects.
Collaborate closely with the Revenue Strategy team to identify optimum partner(s) and partnership terms.
Inform key stakeholders of the implications of key terms and ensure that subsequent analysis (financial and otherwise) is revised accordingly
- Directly negotiate and supervise agreements for the licensing, distribution, and disposition of rights across Film and TV; inform colleagues as needed to advance any parallel negotiations on related products (e.g.
Consumer Products)
- Engage Riot Legal, Business Development, and outside counsel to ensure long-form agreements reflect underlying business terms and do not conflict with existing partnerships or other obligations
- Work closely day-to-day with key internal groups (Creative, Production, Finance, Marketing/Publicity, Legal/BD) to ensure effective integration with external partners and to support execution of projects
- Build and maintain understanding of market templates and state-of-the-art deal terms; develop working knowledge of potential partner strategies to analyze how/where to drive to alignment with Riot’s goals
- Advise both internal and external stakeholders on any BA-related matters (e.g.
guild issues, derivative rights, ancillary rights)
Leadership:
- Build and manage an internal team responsible for Business Affairs.
Foster close collaboration with other BA, Legal, and BD teams across Riot.
- Manage relationships and engage in advocacy on behalf of REG with key industry stakeholders including reps, artists, financiers, business affairs executives, and production executives
- Share expertise and best practices with different business groups to advance Riot’s understanding of the Entertainment ecosystem and improve deal-making across the company
- Support Riot’s efforts to be a place where creative colleagues do the best work of their career by being grounded, solution-oriented, and highly collaborative
Required Qualifications:
- 12+ years of hands-on deal-making experience across development, production, distribution, rights management, and financing.
- Experience in both Film and TV preferred; experience in both Live Action and Animation, desired
- Experience working at either a production company, studio, broadcast/cable network, or streaming service.
[Sell-side experience preferred]
- Results orientation and strong critical thinking skills to ensure alignment on, and commitment to executing against, BU, Group, and Company goals
- Extensive experience negotiating, drafting, and supervising all manner of agreements including short-and-long-form development, talent/holding, above the line, production, distribution, licensing, and financing deals
- Strong legal acumen with the ability to demonstrate sound judgment
- Working knowledge of entertainment guild rules & regulations and familiarity with current hot-button issues and best practices
- Demonstrated success communicating cross functionally and build credibility at an executive level across creative, operations, production, and negotiations
- Collaborative style with strong network of relationships with key stakeholders across the industry; includes reps, studio/network business affairs executives, entertainment lawyers, and more
- Experience leading and developing other leaders and teams in complex, large-scale global entertainment organizations
- Experience working with existing IP and creative, commercial, and operational challenges in world building and (narrative and visual) adaptations
Desired Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in related field.
JD preferred
- Familiarity and experience engaging both scaled, established companies with fixed ways of partnering and smaller, less mature companies with lots of flexibility
- Track record of flexible, innovative, and high-impact deal-making
- Comprehensive knowledge of pop-culture and gaming
- Broad network of production companies, studios, writers, filmmakers and creatives
- Experience with Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres
- Experience working on a major video game IP
Our Perks:
Riot has a focus on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy, in addition to other perks such as flexible work schedules.
We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children, and a 401k with company match.
Check out our benefits pages for more information.
Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner’s Code and Community Code .
Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work.
We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect.
We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming .
It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc.
Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant’s criminal history.
More Information on Riot Games
Riot Games operates in the Gaming industry.
The company is located in Los Angeles, CA and St.
Louis, MO.
Riot Games was founded in 2006.
It has 5179 total employees.
It offers perks and benefits such as Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Disability Insurance, Dental Benefits, Vision Benefits, Health Insurance Benefits and Life Insurance.
To see all 307 open jobs at Riot Games, click here .