Walker Jacobs, a former Fandom and Turner exec, is joining Twitch as its new chief revenue officer starting Dec. 3. Jacobs joins the company as seven-year Twitch veteran Jonathan Simpson-Bint steps down from his role as CRO. Based in New York, Jacobs will report to Sara Clemens, chief operating officer at Twitch.
“Twitch created an entirely new form of entertainment where the audience doesn’t just watch, but is part of creating the experience,” Clemens said in a statement. “Enabling streamers to earn a living is a key focus for Twitch, and advertising is one of the ways viewers support streamers. We’re thrilled to have Walker stepping into this important leadership role given his deep operational expertise in building and scaling global advertising businesses and experience with gaming and fan communities.”
Prior to Twitch, Jacobs served as COO of the entertainment media brand Fandom, as well as president and chief revenue officer of Clear Channel Outdoor, where he was responsible for leading go-to-market strategies for the company’s out-of-home assets in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to Clear Channel, Jacobs was EVP at Turner Broadcasting System where he led Turner Digital, where he was responsible for leading sales and marketing across the company’s portfolio of digital properties.
“Twitch is uniquely positioned to help marketers connect authentically and interact with audiences,” said Jacobs in a statement. “At any given moment more than a million people are on Twitch. The audience is huge and growing, they’re young, influential, difficult to reach, and deeply engaged. The live aspect gives marketers distinctive opportunities too as audiences experience programming simultaneously, at scale. There’s a huge opportunity to bring new products, formats, and experiences to the service that leverage those unique attributes and I’m thrilled by the chance to help drive that innovation.”
Jacobs’ appointment follows a series of executive hires, including Michelle Weaver, who joined as CFO in October, and Sudarshana Rangachary, who joined the Amazon-owned company in September as CHRO.