World Surf League Hires New CEO

The World Surf League announced today that it had hired a new CEO to run its global operation. Ryan Crosby, a former head of publishing at Riot Gaming, has been appointed to run the League. Crosby has an extensive background in publishing and marketing with entertainment giants – including stints with Netflix and Hulu.

“I am deeply honored to join the World Surf League family,” said Crosby in a WSL presser. “What I love about surfing is that it’s an incredible competitive sport, but it’s also much more than that. It’s a way of life, a passion, and a deeply committed global community. I am excited to leverage my experience to elevate the WSL brand, deepen our connection with fans, and continue building something that surfers can be proud of.”

Crosby, who has taken new positions at different companies every few years in the last decade, has been with Riot for the past three. Riot, “which engages hundreds of millions of gamers,” is best known for its League of Legends series – a video game that has garnered a gigantic youth audience, for sure. There isn’t a lot of detail in the press release regarding Crosby’s surfing background.

“In addition to his professional endeavors,” it reads. “Crosby is an avid supporter of environmental conservation efforts, notably collaborating with organizations like the Surfrider Foundation [he’s been on the board for a year] to protect our oceans and coastlines. His personal connection to surfing underscores his dedication to preserving the natural environments that serve as the backdrop for the sport’s most iconic moments.”

Which begs two questions: how will his surfing background, either a deep history, or recent love affair, play out with the core surfing audience, which has still proven to be the most important for the WSL in recent years (maybe more so than sometimes estimated). And second, does leading a community of gamers prepare one for leading the global hub of competitive surfing?

Let’s start with the last question: maybe. As we know now after watching the recent run of CEO’s from Paul Speaker to Erik Logan, competitive surfing has legs, it can create ESPN Top 10 moments, and viral video seen round the world (ala Mick Fanning vs. shark). So it takes serious leadership touch to oversee the creation and distribution of media for a global sports brand, help attract (and nurture) sponsorship deals, coalesce with ownership and maybe most importantly, the athletes.

It could be argued that nothing connects anyone born in the global community after 2005 like gaming. And an understanding of this kind of massive distribution of information, deal making, and media is an absolute necessity in the game of pro surfing. Not to mention that bringing in a more youthful audience is never, ever a bad thing. Crosby checks some important boxes.

The other question is much more complicated. Core surfers generally love to complain about competitive surfing. But when you win with that audience, the product is a thousand times more healthy (that goes for any sport). What will Crosby do with competitive surfing’s most acidic subject matter: wave pools, judging, locations and schedule, the mid-year cut, and the Final Five? These have proven to be uber-polorazing topics in our game (not to mention the impending retirement of an 11-time champ). The way Crosby handles those issues, and connects (without pandering) to that core audience will be vital to his success.

It doesn’t necessarily require a person deeply connected to surfing to attack those problems. But it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

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