I was born and raised in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. I attended Northwestern University from 2012-2016, double majoring in Chemical Engineering and Economics. While at Northwestern, I founded both the competitive Call of Duty team and the Esports Club. Post graduation, I worked for the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, where I spent 1.5 years as a generalist consultant followed by 3 years in the Private Equity practice (1.5 as analyst, 1.5 as manager). I recently quit to spend some time enjoying my summer and conducting research in the esports and gaming fields, which will be the primary focus of this blog. I begin my MBA at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in September, and post-MBA, I'm looking to pivot to a full time job in the esports and gaming industry. For questions about any of the data I publish, or if you just want to chat esports and gaming in general, don't hesitate to reach out to me at james.reed.kolbe@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/reedkolbe!