CCO of the Year
The Chief Customer Officer (CCO) Council is dedicated to elevating the role of the CCO in business strategy, helping its members grow professionally, and most importantly, helping drive solid, customer-focused results in member organizations.
Each year, the Council recognizes the CCO that has made the greatest strides on improving customer relationships, driving profitable customer behavior, and in creating customer-centric cultures. As well, the Council recognizes the CCO that has had the greatest impact on his or her peers in helping others achieve similar results.
The Chief Customer Officer (CCO) Council is dedicated to elevating the role of the CCO in business strategy, helping its members grow professionally, and most importantly, helping drive solid, customer-focused results in member organizations.
Each year, the Council recognizes the CCO that has made the greatest strides on improving customer relationships, driving profitable customer behavior, and in creating customer-centric cultures. As well, the Council recognizes the CCO that has had the greatest impact on his or her peers in helping others achieve similar results.
Steve Mescon, Head of Player Experience at Riot Games is the CCO Council’s 2015 Chief Customer Officer of the Year.
Steve began his career at age 16 when he founded the online community that supported the game Defense of the Ancients (DotA) and its millions of players worldwide. He's been crafting excellent player experiences and defining player focus ever since.
Before joining Riot Games in 2008, Steve worked in the Customer Loyalty group and in UX for Zappos.com. This experience helped Steve oversee the creation and growth of Riot's Player Support, Web Content, Video, User Research, UX, and Community teams. Today he works closest with UX design and Player Insights, focusing on creating player-worthy experiences.
Steve’s commitment to player experience runs bone deep and is repeatedly emphasized in the words of his leaders and colleagues, who – together – tell a unique and fascinating business success story:
"Though the player base has grown during the five years Steve's been here, he continues to prioritize the player experience for each and every player. He's demonstrated an unwavering commitment to putting the overall player experience first and helped inspire our mission to be the most player-focused game company in the world. He's helped Rioters and the world understand what "player experience first" really means for us, and his thought leadership and perspective has led to innovations that have changed the way we interact with players." – Marc Merrill, President & Co-Founder
"Steve is a prodigy. He innately understands the value of building strong player relationships founded on trust and mutual respect, and he has had a massive impact on Riot as he identifies and articulates the most poignant insights into player relationships. He is a passionate evangelist, strategist, guide, and mentor." – Brandon Beck, CEO & Co-Founder
"Steve is passionate about providing amazing player experiences. He has armed generations of Rioters with the tools to put "player experience first," and translate this into the hard daily trade-offs that affect millions of players; now those same players can say, unprompted, that Riot Games' core tenet is to put the player first." – Matt Agnello, Player Experience Manager
"Steve’s relentless evangelism for the player experience has been critical to our success." – Chris Enock, VP of Central Publishing
"Steve’s leadership has been integral to setting the vision and inculcating it into Riot’s DNA as we grow and evolve." – Lynn Stetson, Director of UX
Steve continues to serve the cause of customer centricity with his innovative, empowering contributions to customer experience and customer communities.
Please join me in congratulating Steve Mescon, the Chief Customer Officer Council’s 2015 CCO of the Year!