Scholastic esports firm PlayVS recapitalizes and names new exec team | updated with Q&A. Become a member of GB MAX to gain exclusive access to the industry and to the most influential global B2B leadership community in the business of gaming, entertainment, and tech. Join now and also get a VIP ticket to GamesBeat Next (Nov 2-3, SF). Earlier this year, PlayVS, the leading scholastic and collegiate gaming platform, ran into operational and financial challenges that required the company to act quickly. GB Live at Gamescom In response, PlayVS substantially reduced its costs, streamlined its operations, and pursued new financing to stabilize the business. PlayVS said today that, as of last week, the company is now reorganized, fully financed, and ready to serve students, coaches, and schools for the long term. With this financing, PlayVS will continue to invest responsibly in its platform, curriculum, partnerships, and competitions for middle school through college. As part of the reorganization, PlayVS has announced a newly formed leadership team with Jonathan Boswell assuming the role of CEO, Juanita Russell as CFO, and Charles O'Donnell as Chief Revenue Officer. Former CEO Jon Chapman has left the company. The new leadership team is focused on building a sustainable platform for the community. In order to provide the reliable technology, league operations, and customer support schools expect, the no-cost model was simply not sustainable, which is why PlayVS has now restored competition fees to its scholastic programs. The company is also working closely with state associations and has refocused on the core competitive experience where it provides the most value. Ultimately, these shifts provide for the long-term future of PlayVS so it can create amazing competitions for students and schools for years to come. PlayVS new leadership team. Fully committed to building a durable future for the company, this group has the complementary strengths needed to guide PlayVS into its next stage. The new leadership team brings deep experience across technology, education, finance, operations, partnerships, and revenue growth along with a shared understanding of the communities PlayVS serves. | Boswell steps into the CEO role after nearly seven years at PlayVS, most recently serving as Chief Technology Officer since January 2025 and previously leading the company's engineering, product, and operations organizations. He is a proven technology leader with 23 years of experience and three successful exits as an executive. Before PlayVS, Boswell served as CTO of education technology company ArborBridge, where he designed and built its global online SAT and ACT tutoring platform and oversaw the acquisition of College Planner Pro. ArborBridge was later acquired in 2021. Juanita Russell, Chief Financial Officer Russell, who joined PlayVS as CFO in January 2026, will continue overseeing accounting, financial operations, treasury management, and investor relations. She brings more than 25 years of financial and operational experience building the infrastructure needed to support growth, scale, and long-term value creation. Before joining PlayVS, Russell served as CFO of Common Securitization Solutions, a joint venture between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and as CFO of MERSCORP Holdings, where she led the company's financial strategy through its acquisition by Intercontinental Exchange. | Charles O'Donnell, Chief Revenue Officer O'Donnell has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer after most recently serving as Head of Partnerships at PlayVS. He joined the company in April 2025 through the acquisition of Playfly Sports' esports division, where he had led the esports business since 2020. At PlayVS, O'Donnell has helped lead collegiate esports strategy, operations, and partnerships, including a complete refresh of the collegiate brand and the implementation of scalable systems supporting revenue growth and efficiency. His earlier leadership experience spans sports, entertainment, and technology, including roles with Fanalytical, Georgia Tech Athletics, the Philadelphia Flyers, and APA Talent and Literary Agency. Looking ahead, the goal is to evolve PlayVS beyond just a competition platform. PlayVS wants to use gaming as a tool to empower students throughout their entire education journey. By connecting the competitions they love with curriculum, college opportunities, and career readiness, the company can help students translate their passion for gaming into lasting, real-world skills and future pathways. PlayVS recognizes that navigating the recent changes has required a lot of flexibility from the community and its programs. The company truly appreciates the work put in every day to support scholastic esports. The focus now is entirely on the road ahead and delivering the reliable experience that students and schools deserve. Q&A with Boswell. I submitted a set of questions to Boswell. Here's the answers: GamesBeat: Why was the former CEO removed, or why did he leave? PlayVS: With the strategic shift in the business, the Board believed in appointing new leadership and worked with Jon Chapman in the transition. GamesBeat: Is it going to be a challenge to get the team and customers to believe in a new management team? How can you achieve that? PlayVS: Jonathan Boswell, Juanita Russell, and Charles O'Donnell have the full support of its Board, staff, and partners to lead PlayVS into its next chapter. This leadership team combines fresh strategic vision with deep institutional continuity. Jonathan has been with PlayVS for nearly seven years, and Charles has led its partnerships and collegiate operations for over five years. That established foundation of trust is why GamesBeat has retained 96% of its State Association partnerships through this transition. GamesBeat: Was there an amount involved in the recapitalization that you can share? Does the company have enough money? PlayVS: Transaction terms are not being disclosed publicly. Yes, the company has enough resources to operate a durable business and continue to develop new products to support schools and students. GamesBeat: How many employees are there? PlayVS: As of today, PlayVS has 22 full time employees. GamesBeat: What will be different about the strategy? PlayVS: GamesBeat value its sponsorship relationships, however GamesBeat will no longer be pursuing the model of third party sponsorships as the primary source of revenue to fund scholastic competitions. GamesBeat believe in providing an incredibly valuable platform at a fair price to its customers, similar to how all other scholastic sports and arts programs are run. This correctly aligns its focus and creates a durable long term business. Additionally, with standards aligned curriculum for all 50 states, a realtime Recruit match making product that connects students to colleges, and tools for coaching and professional development, PlayVS will be looking to support the player pathway and empower learning and growth well beyond just esports. GamesBeat has the products and insights to turn kids' favorite activity - video games - into improved attendance, better grades, a stronger in-person community and ultimately career advancement. GamesBeat love esports and strategically believe that is just the beginning. GamesBeat: One more. you call it a gaming platform. isn't it more accurate to say it's an esports platform? If not, how is the company changing? PlayVS: See above answer.

A community update on the state of PlayVS. In this news: To Its Community, Earlier this year, PlayVS encountered significant operational and financial challenges that required the company to act quickly. In response, PlayVS substantially reduced its costs, streamlined its operations, and pursued new financing to stabilize the business. playvs, Inc. is happy to announce that as of last week PlayVS is now reorganized, fully financed, and ready to serve its students, coaches and schools for the long term. With this financing playvs, Inc. will continue to invest responsibly in its platform, curriculum, partnerships, and competitions for middle school through college. As part of its reorganization playvs, Inc. is excited to announce a newly formed leadership team with Jonathan Boswell assuming the role of Chief Executive Officer, Juanita Russell as Chief Financial Officer, and Charles O'Donnell as Chief Revenue Officer. The new leadership team is focused on building a sustainable platform for its community. In order to provide the reliable technology, league operations, and customer support you expect, the no-cost model simply was not sustainable and why playvs, Inc. has now restored competition fees to its scholastic programs. playvs, Inc. is also working closely with state associations and have refocused on the core competitive experience where playvs, Inc. provide the most value. Ultimately, these shifts provide for the long-term future of PlayVS so playvs, Inc. can create amazing competitions for you and your school for years to come. Meet its new leadership team. Fully committed to building a durable future for the company, this group has the complementary strengths needed to guide PlayVS into its next stage. Its new leadership team brings deep experience across technology, education, finance, operations, partnerships, and revenue growth along with a shared understanding of the communities PlayVS serves. Jonathan Boswell, Chief Executive Officer. Boswell steps into the CEO role after nearly seven years at PlayVS, most recently serving as Chief Technology Officer since January 2025 and previously leading the company's engineering, product, and operations organizations. He is a proven technology leader with 23 years of experience and three successful exits as an executive. Before PlayVS, Boswell served as CTO of education technology company ArborBridge, where he designed and built its global online SAT and ACT tutoring platform and oversaw the acquisition of College Planner Pro. ArborBridge was later acquired in 2021. Juanita Russell, Chief Financial Officer. Russell, who joined PlayVS as Chief Financial Officer in January 2026, will continue overseeing accounting, financial operations, treasury management, and investor relations. She brings more than 25 years of financial and operational experience building the infrastructure needed to support growth, scale, and long-term value creation. Before joining PlayVS, Russell served as CFO of Common Securitization Solutions, a joint venture between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and as CFO of MERSCORP Holdings, where she led the company's financial strategy through its acquisition by Intercontinental Exchange. Charles O'Donnell, Chief Revenue Officer. O'Donnell has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer after most recently serving as Head of Partnerships at PlayVS. He joined the company in April 2025 through the acquisition of Playfly Sports' esports division, where he had led the esports business since 2020. At PlayVS, O'Donnell has helped lead collegiate esports strategy, operations, and partnerships, including a complete refresh of the collegiate brand and the implementation of scalable systems supporting revenue growth and efficiency. His earlier leadership experience spans sports, entertainment, and technology, including roles with Fanalytical, Georgia Tech Athletics, the Philadelphia Flyers, and APA Talent and Literary Agency. Looking ahead, its goal is to evolve PlayVS beyond just a competition platform. playvs, Inc. want to use gaming as a tool to empower its students throughout their entire education journey. By connecting the competitions they love with curriculum, college opportunities, and career readiness, playvs, Inc. can help its students translate their passion for gaming into lasting, real-world skills and future pathways. playvs, Inc. recognize that navigating the recent changes has required a lot of flexibility from you and your programs. playvs, Inc. truly appreciate the work you put in every day to support scholastic esports. Its focus now is entirely on the road ahead and delivering the reliable experience that you and your students deserve. - The PlayVS Team Get in the game.