Tricia Sugita steps down as FlyQuest CEO

FlyQuest has announced the departure of CEO Tricia Sugita, who decided to step down as she looks to another chapter in her career. Following 4 years with the organization, Sugita will now be replaced by Michael Choi, FlyQuest’s former Chief Operating Officer. 

In the official goodbye video posted yesterday, June 13, Sugita reflected on her time spent with FlyQuest, thanking the organization for the “opportunity to watch it grow” and calling her time working with FlyQuest her “greatest honour and a privilege”.

While the organisation did not specify why Sugita decided to step down or what are her future career plans, she is said to “continue showcase greatness in her next chapter”. 

Sugita’s quest at FlyQuest

Tricia Sugita is the architect behind FlyQuest as we know it today. She is the one who gave the North American organization a new identity, vision and purpose, and helped it to grow and prosper not only on the esports scene but also as a company looking to make a difference in the world. 

Sugita joined FlyQyest back in 2018 as the company’s COO, bringing years of experience in esports leadership with her. Prior to joining FlyQuest, she worked as Head Of Partnerships for Immortals and as Director of Esports for Azubu. Following two years as the FlyQuest COO, she’s been promoted to CEO at the beginning of 2020. 

Right from the beginning of her leadership, Sugita spearheaded various initiatives to support the environment, Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQIA+ communities and mental health awareness. She introduced the FlyQuest company vision — Showcase Greatness — the belief that greatness already exists within everyone, which has been a cornerstone of all of the organization’s admirable efforts. 

Among the organization’s numerous efforts was launching the #GoGreen initiative, which looks to facilitate ways to address important environmental issues. The initiative saw FlyQuest plant over 10,000 trees and donate thousands of dollars to support trees, seas, coral reefs, bees, and solar energy — all as a part of campaigns named TreeQuest, SeaQuest, BeeQuest and SunnyQuest; and all aligned with the organization’s new branding that highlights its vision and purpose. 

In a 2020 interview for Esports Insider, Sugita commented on her, in esports rather unique, environmentally-conscious approach: 

“In this day and age, we have the opportunity to be more than just a company, in our case more than an esports organisation. A lot of companies and teams say they ‘want to be more than XYZ’ but I don’t know what that ‘more’ is. Even for traditional sports teams who have been around for decades, I don’t know what their vision is, what their brand is. I wanted FlyQuest to have a clear vision from the start because many of the greatest companies in the world have started with a vision.”

Based on her own statement, Sugita more than succeeded in her quest of giving FlyQuest an identity and clear vision. The company presents itself as an esports organization seeking to inspire and empower individuals and ultimately showcase their greatness — demonstrably doing exactly that. 

Under Sugita’s leadership, FlyQuest has also achieved some of its biggest esports successes, which include finishing second at LCS Spring and Summer in 2020 and qualifying for Worlds that year. Besides the LCS League of Legends roster, FlyQuest also fields an Academy LoL roster and two Super Smash Bros. Melee players. 

FlyQuest new CEO

The new FlyQuest CEO Michael Choi joined the organisation in August 2019 as Senior Project Manager and was later promoted to Director of Operations before becoming the company’s COO in April 2020. Now, almost three years after joining the company, Choi will continue in Sugita’s quest, focusing on expanding FlyQuest’s esports division and working with its partners on sustainable projects. The new CEO of FlyQuest commented on his appointment: 

“Tricia’s leadership and vision over the last few years grew FlyQuest to where we are today, and as the new CEO, these are very big shoes to fill. I have a strong grasp on where we need to go from here, and our team and players remain committed to the greater FlyQuest cause.”

Header: FlyQuest