Professional gamer, entrepreneur, and esports industry expert
Netherlands
Leading global expert and entrepreneur delivers engaging keynote speeches about the gaming and esports industry, responsible and balanced gaming, and innovation and gamification.
Request fees and availability5 out of 5 stars
Koen is an amazing speaker and has already worked with us multiple times. Koen has proven to be an excellent host, presenter and commentator. He comes well prepared, reacts brilliantly to unplanned events on the spot, proactively involves the audience and manages to hold his own in unexpected situations time and again. The latter is an enormous strength and reassurance for every (event)organizer. Finally, Koen is a true influencer who knows how to captivate both children and their parents. During our Esports Tour through Rotterdam, he manages to reduce the (digital) generation gap by inspiring children and their parents in an interactive way. I hope to be able to use his services again in the near future.
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About Koen
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Koen Schobbers is a leading global expert and entrepreneur in the gaming and esports industry and is an outstanding, engaging and down-to-earth keynote speaker looking to educate, activate and inspire his audience.
He is a board member and vice chair of the Athletes, Players & Community Commission of the Global Esports Federation (GEF). The Global Esports Federation has over 125 partnerships including UNESCO, the ITU, the WHO, the UNFCCC, Tencent, THOMSON X, REFRACT Technologies, the Global Sports Innovation Center of Microsoft and over a 100 member federations. Koen also founded Koenz, a company helping businesses to implement the gaming and esports industry in their strategies and campaigns. Some organizations Koenz has worked with include Vodafone, Spinnin’ Records, Populous, KIA and Acer.
Koen became a professional gamer at the age of 15, but the relationship with his mother was very difficult as a result. He later used this experience to found Parents of Play to help parents with the relationship with their gaming children and train professionals on how to deal with gaming children. The concept is based around his specific models and guidelines which are now used internationally. Koen is also the author of a book titled ‘ My Gaming Child’ in which he answers the 50 most common questions he has been asked by parents. He spoke at TED in 2019 about how to (re)connect with gaming children.
Koen is highly revered and he has been covered in over 300 media outlets since 2014. Between 2016 and 2020, he was also the anchorman of an esports show broadcasted on ESPN. He was the Dutch Champion in Trackmania between 2011 and 2016 and was 3rd at the world championships in 2013.
See keynotes with Koen SchobbersA company’s ability to adapt to its environment plays an important role in sustaining or achieving a prosperous future for the organization. The gaming industry as a whole has continuously adapted to its environment for over half a century and is now reaping the benefits: exponential growth. Lessons learned from the gaming industry can be incorporated in organizations to connect with younger audiences and attract talent. This in turn supports the organization with business and people sustainability, helping them to achieve a prosperous future.
The gaming and esports industry has taken the world by storm. Where does this industry come from? What is this industry about? How does it work? Why is it growing exponentially? And what steps can you take to become part of it?
The world of gaming and esports is a breeding ground for innovation, supported by a powerful community that is strongly connected through all online possibilities. With new heroes, new games and new technological developments, this industry is set to play a very
important role in what’s to come. Explore the opportunities in this industry by following a 5 step model Koen will highlight during his speech.
Why do games have such a strong appeal? What is ‘conscious gaming’, ‘balanced gaming’ or ‘healthy gaming’? How can we ensure that a healthy balance is maintained? What are the risks if we do not? And, if not, how do we help someone to get back into a healthy routine?
Gaming: it’s the #1 hobby of many children… And the #1 parenting problem for a lot of parents. Koen will introduce you to some of his own models and guidelines that are used by parents and professionals across the globe to build unbreakable relationships.
Koen will take you on a bumpy ride through his career in which he quickly noticed that certain key behavioral characteristics, combined with the right step-by-step approach, led to great results for people and organizations. Based on his insights and experiences, he created the Virtuous Five model.
He has been teaching this model to individuals and organizations and has used it himself to find success in different fields. Give your audience the opportunity to step into a virtuous cycle and stimulate continuous personal development, increase motivation and teamwork, and create a positive impact on the business.
Koen was one of the best speakers we ever had on stage at TEDxMünster. His talk was poignant and intense, and he presented it in a highly professional way: clear, understandable and entertaining. It was a pleasure to work with him.
Dr. Wiebke Borgers
Koen has a sympathetic, accessible personality and is an experienced speaker. He has a lot of knowledge and experience in the gaming industry and his story is inspiring to many.
Mark Versteegen
Koen Schobbers is a fantastic ambassador of the gaming industry. We gratefully made use of his talents and broad knowledge. Koen gives parents valuable insights and makes them feel more connected with their children when it comes to gaming.
Hans den Heijer
The commitment of, and cooperation with, Koen for our Ziggo Shop in Shop employee day was a good move. Koen knows how to engage with the audience by matching his story with the audience and our products and services. What was also very pleasant was the opportunity to discuss his input beforehand and that Koen took the time after the presentation, and during the drinks, to answer any questions. Koen is very accessible to everyone and easily takes you into his world, even if you are not familiar with this industry!
Marianne van Haaften
Koen's story was spot on. With his knowledge and experience, he managed to take our international guests into his world of gaming and esports. Koen's keynote breathes authenticity since you can sense that the material has been lived through and through. It was noticeable that a lot of time and energy went into the presentation and it was tailor-made. Literally because we had an extremely wide screen on stage to which he had adapted his slides and videos and figuratively because he included our theme in his story. Thank you so much!
Thijs Pepping
During an inspiring presentation, Koen made the audience think about the opportunities that the sports industry and esports can offer each other.
Mariëtte van der Voet
I was very impressed by Koen’s presentation at the Hot Game, the annual event of the Amsterdam Sports Council about a current sports theme. With his expertise, experience and empathy, Koen knows how to connect worlds that do not always understand each other very well.
Ageeth Telleman
It is good to know Koen Schobbers in order to understand the gaming and esports industry. He knows the industry like the back of his hand, knows how to make smart, meaningful connections and explains how to deal with gamers.
Jolanda Jansen
Koen knows how to combine the love for gaming with a healthy lifestyle. Useful for professionals, parents and children.
Mark Tuitert
Koen is a wonderfully inspiring ambassador for responsible gaming and esports. He leads by example in every way (lifestyle, fitness, education) and uses his unwavering energy to bring others into his passion and fight against all-too-easy prejudices. A privilege to work with him!
Frank Thewessem
Koen is an enthusiastic (!!) speaker who, thanks to his professional and personal experience, is able to take a broad audience into the greatness of the gaming world. He has supported JOGG as a strategic sparring partner about our role in the gaming industry, but also as a speaker for education, healthcare and sports professionals in the country.
Jasper Oomen
Koen has been a reliable ambassador for our brand for many years. His passion for gaming and drive to help people relate to who we are as a company.
Bart Janssen
Because of the empathic and enthusiastic way in which Koen presents his story, the participants feel free to respond spontaneously and ask questions. This creates a relaxed an open atmosphere, making it easy for professionals, parents and children to talk about the impact of gaming.
Lilian Leber
When we got in touch with Koen Schobbers for the advanced training ‘Expert Class in Esports Management’ at the Free University of Brussels – via LinkedIn, of course – we were immediately convinced to invite Koen for an interactive guest lecture. By now, he has done so several times in Dutch and English in front of an ambitious high profile audience in the esports industry. We consider his book ‘My Gaming Child’ as a must-have when learning about this industry. We therefore didn’t hesitate to order a large number of copies and are very happy to offer the book as a business gift to our partners. In short, Koen as a guest speaker is highly recommended!
Jos Verscheuren
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