FaZe Clan Names Zach Katz President, COO
● Katz heads to the organization from the music industry where he has more than 20 years of experience in the music content and talent business.
FaZe Clan on Thursday revealed the appointment of Zach Katz as president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
Katz heads to FaZe Clan from the music industry, where he cofounded record label and music publishing company Beluga Heights with Sony Music, and cofounded music-tech investment fund Raised in Space Enterprises. He served as chief executive officer of both companies. He also worked with Warner Brothers Records and served as executive vice president, chief creative officer and president of records, publishing and operations for global music company BMG.
Katz earned a J.D. from Loyola School of Law in Los Angeles and a B.A. from the University of Southern California before beginning his career as a music attorney.
As FaZe Clan’s president and chief operating officer he will oversee the organization’s content, talent, merchandise, consumer goods, sponsorships and esports businesses. He will work closely with the senior leadership team on their global expansion and to spearhead new verticals, and will build internal systems to maximize efficiency. He will also report to CEO Lee Trink.
“Building on FaZe Clan’s leadership in youth culture, our goal is to further push the boundaries of gaming to drive innovation in entertainment,” Katz said in a statement. “I can’t imagine a more exciting moment to join FaZe Clan’s passionate team and community.”
This appointment comes as FaZe
Clan plans to become a publicly traded company. The organization revealed in October 2021 its plans to merge with B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp. The transaction is expected to close by July.
Between the merger announcement and present day, FaZe entered a joint marketing initiative with the NFL, added rapper and personality Snoop Dogg to their board of directors, and named a new creative director.
“FaZe Clan sits at the intersection of gaming, creator economy and culture, all of which we believe is leading the growth of Web3,” Trink said in a statement. “We are squarely focused on building the future and by adding Zach to our team, we are gaining a proven leader who has extensive experience in working with innovative, cultural brands. Through my long-standing relationship with Zach, I trust that he will help catapult our company into the next phase of growth, and bring operational excellence to FaZe as we become a public company.”