GameWorks under new ownership
GameWorks Inc., with seven locations nationwide including in Schaumburg, announced that it has new ownership and executives leading the entertainment company.
ExWorks Capital has been a lender to GameWorks since 2017 and recently restructured its investment, giving it full control of the company. Concurrent with the change in corporate ownership, Philip N. Kaplan was named chairman and chief executive officer. In this capacity, Kaplan will lead day-to-day business operations and direct the company's growth and expansion.
Kaplan replaces Greg Stevens, who served as GameWorks' CEO for six years.
"Joining the GameWorks leadership team allows me to bring a fresh and dynamic new vision to the company, one that is focused on ensuring our guests have extraordinary, energetic and fun experiences when visiting our locations. To this end, working closely with our new owners, GameWorks will soon be bolstering several aspects of its stimulating offering through key initiatives that will further distinguish the company within the family entertainment space and position it for continued growth," Kaplan explained.
Kaplan brings nearly 30 years of business operational experience at both public and private companies to his new leadership role. Over the course of his career, Kaplan held management positions in which he directed efforts surrounding corporate mergers, acquisitions, integrations and reorganizations.
Most recently, Kaplan served as managing partner of April Mountain Properties LLC, a family owned real estate company that owns and operates residential rental properties. Prior, he was chief executive officer and board member at private equity-held Dbtech, a leader in health care workflow automation solutions. Currently, Kaplan is a member of the board of directors of the online action sports company, Surfline.com.
"GameWorks has built a strong foundation and established a solid reputation in an industry that is continually expanding and poised for considerable growth. With Phil at the helm, we see an enormous opportunity to capitalize on this explosive market acceptance of entertainment concepts by growing the GameWorks brand and footprint. We look forward to the contributions he will make in his new leadership role," said Randall Abrahams, ExWorks' executive chairman.
"Since its founding more than 20 years ago, GameWorks has become recognized as a top destination for fun, food, excitement and a wide variety of games and eSports, where we have become widely recognized for our distinctive eSports Lounges. GameWorks will look to leverage the strength of our management and on-site location teams as well as our industry expertise to drive the future direction of our brand," Kaplan said.
GameWorks also operates in Chesapeake, Virginia; Denver; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; Newport, Kentucky and Seattle.