IGDA names new executive director

The International Game Developers Association has named its new executive director: Joshua Caulfield.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, that won’t be much of a surprise – Caulfield is not from the games industry, but has ten years of association leadership experience, having previously served as executive VP of the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association.

“The decision to hire someone from outside the games industry was not taken lightly,” said Bob Bates, chairman of the IGDA.

“When the board examined the challenges we face, we realized our key volunteers already have a wealth of industry knowledge, and what we needed was an experienced association professional to help us manage the organization to better serve the needs of our SIGs, Chapters, and members worldwide.”

The organisation has also tweaked the role slightly: whereas previously the executive director was outward-facing, now the chair of the organisation will be taking on the spokesperson role, which Bates said was "to enable the executive director to focus on the critical tasks of running the organisation."

“The games industry is filled with talented people and the IGDA has a position of great importance in representing the development community,” said Caulfield, himself a keen RPG and MMO gamer.

“The opportunity to work with the board and become a greater catalyst in the growth of the association is something that fits perfectly with my experience and capabilities. I’m confident the IGDA will become an even greater organization over the next several years.”