MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
In this week’s roundup: Green Man Gaming hires new performance marketing EVP, Ukie’s Blackwell becomes theMayor of London’s first chief digital officer, a new marketing director arrives at Sold Out, PlayStack gets new COO and board director,Koch Media’s Scarborough joins Improbable and Ukie welcomes three new members.
Green Man Gaming
Paul Turner(pictured right) has joined Green Man Gaming as its new performance marketing EVP. Previously, Turner headed up online sports gambling site Sporting Index, where he overhauled the company’s marketing strategy. He’s also worked at QVC, where he spent nine years building its digital marketing programme from scratch. Paul Sulyok, CEO and founder of GMG said: Paul’s 15 years’ experience at the forefront of digital marketing innovation working in forward thinking industries including online gambling and digital retail is a highly valuable addition to our executive team as we ramp up our internationalisation plans.”
London Mayor’s office
Ukie’s former head of public affairs Theo Blackwellhas been appointed as the Mayor of London’s first chief digital officer. In his newly-created function, Blackwell will play a leading role in realising the Mayor’s ambition to make London the world’s smartest city. Ukie CEO Dr Jo Twist OBE said she was delighted that London has committed to an inclusive, innovation-driven digital economy. Theo has a brilliant track record as a leading transformational force in local government. His appointment is critical in reinforcing London’s position as a leader in the digital economy.” Blackwell added: The new chief digital officer post is an amazing opportunity to make our capital even more open to innovation, support jobs and investment and make our public services more effective.”
Sold Out
Sarah Hoeksmahas been appointed as Sold Out’s new marketing director. Having previously worked at the likes of ESL, Ubisoft, EA, Eidos and Square Enix Europe, Hoeksma brings a wealth of brand marketing, live marketing and esports experience to the company. CEO Garry Williams said: Having someone of Sarah’s calibre to lead our marketing efforts in the physical and digital space for our partners will strengthen our publishing offering across the board; from working with some of the very biggest brands in gaming to being at the forefront of esports, I’m confident that Sarah’s knowledge and experience will fit perfectly into the tight-knit Sold Out team.”
PlayStack
PlayStack has appointed Mads Jensenas COO and board director. He will be working alongside CEO and founder Harvey Elliot to guide the company towards bringing even more creative games to market over the next 12 months. Jensen stated: I believe this business has all the ingredients to be a game changer for the industry. A team with an outstanding CEO, incredible talent, superb track record and a far-reaching vision in an exciting and rapidly growing market – PlayStack has the potential to be the next London unicorn. This is a very exciting opportunity, and I am delighted to be joining the PlayStack leadership team to help realise the full potential of the business.”
Improbable
Koch Media’s David Scarboroughhas joined Improbable as PR coordinator for games. In his new role, he will be working closely with the company’s studio partners to showcase the games being made using Improbable’s SpatialOS platform.
Scarborough commented: Improbable is one of the most exciting start-ups in the tech world, and its SpatialOS technology has revolutionised the way developers think about game design. It’s an incredible privilege to work alongside our studio partners and the talented team here in the London office.”
Ukie
Ukie has welcomed three new members onto its team. Industry consultants Marie-Claire Isaaman(below, left) and VanessaJoyce (below, middle)will be supporting and scaling Ukie’s overall mission, while LauraMartin(below, right) has been appointed to Ukie’s Digital Schoolhouse initiative. Ukie CEO Dr Jo Twist OBE said: I’m pleased we can bring the expertise of Vanessa and Marie-Claire along with their extensive knowledge, ideas and networks, to help scale the ambitions of Ukie on behalf of the UK games industry. Laura’s digital marketing expertise will be hugely beneficial to the Digital Schoolhouse project at this important nationwide expansion period. They are all talented and their experience will be a critical part of the Ukie team.”
