Kyle Laffey

San Francisco, CA, United States0

Head of Partnerships | Strategic Partnerships, Product Partnerships & Business Development | AI, Gaming, Sports Tech & Emerging Technology

I build strategic partnerships that turn new technology into products people actually use. At Theta Network, I work across business development, product partnerships, and GTM, owning the full lifecycle from the first conversation and contract negotiation through technical scoping, launch, adoption, renewal, and expansion. Most recently, I built Theta’s sports and esports AI partnership business from the ground up. Across my broader portfolio, I’ve signed 25+ strategic and AI agreements and led 15+ deployments reaching 25M+ fans across 2025-26. Partners include the Houston Rockets, Vegas Golden Knights, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Earthquakes, Philadelphia Union, Olympique de Marseille, Cloud9, Gen.G, G2 Esports, and 100 Thieves. My strength is operating at the commercial-product interface: translating partner needs into product requirements, aligning product, engineering, legal, marketing, and executive teams, then staying accountable after launch. I’m especially interested in Strategic Partnerships, Product Partnerships, Strategic Alliances, and product/GTM roles across AI, gaming, sports tech, robotics, and other emerging technology.

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Experience

Influencer Marketing Manager

Theta Network

Aug 2016 — Aug 2017 · San Francisco Bay Area

Built and now lead a global portfolio of 25+ signed partnerships across AI, professional sports, esports, gaming, media, telecom, and emerging technology. Primary relationship owner for 20+ partner accounts. • Created Theta’s sports and esports AI partnership business from zero, leading 15+ deployments in 4-8 weeks and reaching 25M+ fans across 2025-26. • Own the full partner lifecycle: market mapping, executive outreach, discovery, commercial strategy, pricing, contract negotiation, technical scoping, implementation, adoption, business reviews, renewal, and expansion. • Led programs with the Houston Rockets, Vegas Golden Knights, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Earthquakes, Philadelphia Union, Olympique de Marseille, Cloud9, Gen.G, G2 Esports, 100 Thieves, and other major organizations. • Translate partner needs into product requirements and integration plans across web, mobile, Discord, Twitch, commerce, ticketing, and third-party data and APIs involving the NBA, NHL, MLS, Ligue 1, Ticketmaster, AXS, and Shopify. • Negotiated complex, multi-year agreements with Olympique de Marseille and other international partners, navigating executive, technical, legal, procurement, privacy, and co-marketing requirements. • Manage teams of 2-4 product managers and account managers while coordinating launches across product, engineering, legal, finance, marketing, and executive stakeholders. • Secured earlier strategic alliances with NASA, Tencent Games, Sony, Samsung, AMD, and Fremantle, including first-of-their-kind blockchain-powered livestreams and creator-led programs. • Built partner-facing generative AI quality programs covering RAG knowledge bases, model evaluation, accuracy benchmarks, source attribution, and guardrails. Improved accuracy in difficult categories from roughly 50-65% to 97-99%.

Creative Director

Genies, Inc.

Aug 2013 — Aug 2016 · San Francisco

• Led creative campaigns for FoxTV, Live Nation, Naked Juice, and Twitch creator Pokimane. • Produced branded photography and digital content for 200+ lifestyle brands, including Uber, Karmaloop, Neff, and Blender Bottle. • Executive produced two $100K+ commercial productions, managing up to 150 cast and crew while coordinating agencies, vendors, locations, budgets, and production schedules.

Esports & Gaming Brand Sponsorship Sales

XMOTA

Jul 2015 — Jul 2016 · San Francisco Bay Area

• Closed $350K+ in gaming and esports sponsorships with MGM Grand, Zippo, Kensington, Naver, and Mandalay Bay. • Helped non-endemic brands enter esports by translating gaming audiences into credible sponsorship, creator, livestream, and event programs.