feel the passion

Meet Our Leadership Team

David Adams
David Adams
Founder | Chief Executive Officer
Melissa Fisher
Melissa Fisher
Co-Founder | Integrator (COO/CMO)
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson
Co-Founder | Chief Financial Officer

An entrepreneur since a young boy, David combines his passion for business and sports.

In his first entrepreneurial venture leading a Sports Business Intelligence company, he used data analytics to help professional sports teams’ management make more informed operational decisions using data. Clients included Washington Wizards (NBA), Washington Mystics (WNBA), Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), Cleveland Indians (Now Guardians) (MLB), Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), Washington Nationals (MLB), and Washington Capitals (NHL).

Believing “Doing good is good for business,” David envisioned building a community of esports industry professionals providing opportunities to make a lasting impact on the lives of teens across the globe as well as leveraging those experiences to inform and entertain others.

Today, Esports Tower’s ecosystem creates educational, inspirational, and entertaining content designed to appeal to both active gamers and all-around gaming enthusiasts.

It is the combination of life experiences; wanting to go pro in sports, working in learning solutions and with professional sports and entertainment organizations that inspired David to bring together his in-depth knowledge and know-how to champion the Esports Tower concept.

Through bootstrapping its early growth and inspiring over $1M in Angel investments, David is now seeking partners to help fuel the acceleration of the company’s evolution into an entertainment powerhouse.

David holds a BS in Business Administration from Houghton University and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

 

Today Melissa describes her role as translating David’s vision and integrating the strategies and tactics to bring them to life.

Honored by the American Business Awards as “a visionary and strategist with extreme savvy in establishing strong negotiating positions, communicating competitive value and exploiting new business opportunities,” Melissa has an incisive ability to strategize and execute forward-thinking solutions across business and consumer markets.

Early in her career she was an award-winning marketer receiving industry recognition for here work for Cox Enterprises, Viacom Networks (MTV & Nickelodeon), Discovery Networks, and the Video Advertising Bureau. She has been an advisor for payment and augmented reality technology teams at Google, Microsoft, Samsung and Visa and was responsible for selling the Passbook brand to Apple.

Most recently, Melissa served as Managing Director for Peak Road Partners, an Interim Executive and fractional C-level consulting firm. There she helped an assortment of entrepreneurs bring great ideas to life, serving as their interim President, COO or CMO.

Melissa holds an M.A. in Business Management from Regent University, Virginia, and a B.S. in Business from Houghton University, Houghton, NY. She is a Certified Franchise Executive by the International Franchise Association (IFA), Certified Direct Marketing Executive by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and holds a Certificate in Product Management from the Pragmatic Marketing Institute (PMI).

Always curious, always learning, her work has been featured in numerous textbooks and she has completed Executive certificate programs in Strategic Marketing at Harvard Business School, Business-to-Business Strategy at Kellogg School of Management Northwestern University, Entrepreneurial Leadership Series at NOVA, Southeastern University H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business & Entrepreneurship, and Pricing Strategies and Tactics at the Chicago School of Business.

A core element of Esports Tower’s ecosystem is our player training and development clubs.  As a former professional athlete, Craig Ferguson brings a unique perspective to the executive team having played in the National Hockey League and served as both a member and captain of Canada’s National Team.

Craig’s deep understanding of club-level sports, coaching, and player development helps inform our strategies and guide our Coaches’ Academy philosophy.

Craig holds a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

At Esports Tower, Craig oversees financial modeling and accounting functions.

our coaches
Great Gamers 1st — Exceptional Educators 2nd

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helping players level up in game AND in life

Tony (DONTONY)

Tony “DonTony” Baccaro is responsible for overseeing coaching programs, managing recreational league and related operations, and monitoring global member activation, onboarding, and how-to seminars for club members at Esports Tower.

Originally from Rochester NY, Tony has over 3 years of experience in esports event operations. He has contributed to high-profile projects such as Red Bull Conquest and the Esports Tower Summer Invitational which served as the backdrop for ESPORTS IRL – the first behind the screen look at competitive esports at the amateur level and the incredible opportunities available to talented teens chasing their American Dream – to one day go pro.

Before joining Esports Tower, Tony was a semi-professional Overwatch player, competing in the Tier 3 Overwatch scene for 3 years before transitioning to become the Head Coach at Full Sail University.

He is a proud alum and valedictorian of Full Sail University, where he earned an Associate’s Degree in Game Design and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Marketing and Media.

When he’s not gaming, Tony enjoys spending time with his dog or watching his favorite anime. While he mainly plays first-person shooter games, his expertise in esports event operations and coaching makes him an invaluable member of the Esports Tower team.

Jake (RAKE)

Jake “Rake” Reinhardt is an experienced coach, tournament organizer, and youth leader. Driven by his passion for motivating his teams in Esports, he takes pride in supporting the Esports Tower Rocket League program with the industry’s most talented coaches.

As the Rocket League Head Coach, his goals include providing the best practice environment, making sure everyone in the program is having fun, and that premium club player’s professional goals are equally matched with a team committed to performance.

He is a proud alum of Marist College where he received a B.S. in Business Administration with a Concentration in Marketing. He loves cooking and spends a lot of time trying new recipes, collecting Pokémon memorabilia, and golfing.

Reinhardt’s passion for coaching can be traced back to Marist College, where he spent significant time evolving their competitive culture and setting new foundations for a now nationally competitive program. As a Rocket League Coach, he specializes in leadership, core strategies of the rocket league game, and inclusivity with his practices.

A resident of Philadelphia, Reinhardt is best known for his contributions to Habitat for Humanity and passion for the Philadelphia sports teams. When he isn’t busy running the Rocket League Club at Esports Tower, you can find him at his local golf course, an Eagles game, or the rugby pitch.

Since joining Esports Tower, the most rewarding part has been helping achieve the dreams of so many dedicated young athletes at Esports, followed closely by supporting a community of like-minded individuals all in pursuit of a common goal in gaming: fun and success.

Casey (APOLLO)

With more than 15 years of experience in coaching and leadership development, Casey “Apollo” Clayton oversees Collegiate Partnerships as well as manages our Fortnite and Overwatch programs at Esports Tower.

Casey has worked on several valuable projects, such as creating and launching the Gauntlet Games Local Event Series, establishing partnerships with +100 top collegiate esports programs, and has built relationships with esports influencers across all of our supported game titles.

He and his wife Sarah reside in Frisco, TX. Outside of work, they love serving in their local church young adults ministry, watching movies, and eating pineapple on pizza!

Casey is a trusted leader who fights daily to create a path for our students to make their dreams a reality.

Miguel (HALTR)

Miguel “Haltr” Peña oversees Esports Tower’s Valorant training club where he’s responsible for player development, coach selection and player satisfaction.

A citizen of Mexico, Miguel He began competing in 2014 with League of Legends and later advanced to coaching teams. He has coached Valorant, Overwatch and League of Legends at Amerike University in Mexico before joining Esports Tower.

Always championing his team to try new things, Miguel’s main goal as a coach is to improve communication and teamwork. He likes to get to know players and help them become the best versions of themselves. Miguel creates a safe place for players to talk openly about what has them tilted and ways to improve by having honest conversations when team members disagree.

When he’s not playing Valorant Miguel enjoys tabletop and role-playing games. You can often see Miguel’s feline friends Pía and Oliver Miguel’s in practice too.

Miguel graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico City with a B.A. in Psychology, and recently completed his Master’s degree in Esports Management from Innovation & Entrepreneurship Business School.

Miguel is known for being a good sport, and on our “Players vs. Coaches” nights, he always volunteers to take on the hardest challenges. So far, his best players have beaten him twice, so he has had to shave his head. Miguel considers this a small cost to pay for motivating them to work better as a team.

Ways That You Can Work With Us

It takes a team to put on tournaments and keep all our clubs running. Here are some of the functions we have supporting our club members and tournament events…

Head Coach
Responsible for overall club plan and team assignments

Team Coach
Responsible for club teams & player development

Assistant Coach/Coach in Training
Responsible for supporting players and coaches

Site Manager
Manage on-site in-person clubs

Event Manager
Manage tournament logistics

Community | Customer Success Manager
Ensure member, attendee, parent, player, sponsor satisfaction and retention.

Data Scientist
Maintains operations, consumer and marketing data to gain insights for product development

Streaming Specialist
Setting up, and monitoring, all streams by our teams, coaches, events, tournaments, and more.

Human Resources Manager
Recruiting, hiring, training and development

Recruiter
Recruits the best esports coaches, and more.

Benefits Specialist
Develop and monitor benefit programs for our staff, and more.

Training and Development
Creates and implements training programs to help new and existing coaches develop their knowledge, skills, and more.

Accounting/Finance
Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable

Business Development
Sales role tasked with securing sponsorships, media partners, and more.

Creative Director
Managing the content team, planning content, advertising, and campaigns, and more.

Content Team
Ensures all assets for creative are secured.

Artists
Maintain website, landing pages, click funnels, create ads, social posts, leader boards, player features and more.

Copywriters
Write for website, marketing, video scripts, press releases, social posts and more.

Audio Tech
Setting up sound equipment and assisting with recordings and sound production for content, ads, and more.

Video Tech
Using video equipment and assisting with recording production for content, ads, and more.

Editor
Editing all video content that will be used for branded content, advertisements, and more.

Social Media
Manage conversations across social media, instant messaging platforms.

Community Manager
Lead events and social interactions that bring together our community.

VISION
NICHE
MISSION
PASSION

Building a better future for the next generation of Esports.

We inspire, connect, educate, and entertain teenage esports enthusiasts.

Coach gamers.
Entertain enthusiasts.
Activate audiences to action.

Helping esports athletes
level-up in game and life.