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Sumo Group has announced plans to boost its staff count by 15 per cent over the next year. Its recently appointed talent acquisition manager, Kieran Holland, will spearhead the projected growth by mid-2020.
Holland comes from “leading international recruitment teams” at Amazon and BP, and will support the growth of Sumo Group’s full portfolio of nine studios in the UK, India, and Canada. The company currently employs over 650 people across studios like Sumo Digital’s City Studios, The Chinese Room, Red Kite Games, and Atomhawk.
“Our people are our biggest asset; they enable us to produce the fantastic games and artwork our partners are looking for, so I’m delighted to have Kieran onboard to drive the acquisition of the very best talent the world has to offer,” said COO Paul Porter. “2018 saw substantial growth for the Group and we look forward to continuing to meet our strategic objectives for 2019 and beyond.”
“I’m thrilled to bring my experience of leading recruitment teams to Sumo,” added Holland. “As a keen gamer, joining the Sumo Group as Talent Acquisition Manager is like a dream come true! The need for a quality recruitment process, ensuring we’re best placed to attract and hire the finest talent is something we clearly understand. It’s an exciting time for our studios, and I look forward to my part in welcoming the world’s best to join Sumo and Atomhawk.”
Paul Porter – co-founder of Sumo Digital and formally managing director – recently became the company’s chief operating officer. Gary Dunn, who had formerly held the position of portfolio director, has moved into the managing director role.
Sumo Digital bought The Chinese Room – which has since added 17 new staff “across a variety of disciplines” to its team – in a surprise move in August. The move is an important one for Sumo, which IPO late last year, with the company having previously been almost exclusively a work-for-hire studio. The acquisition will at least put the company into the space of creating and managing its own IP, though whether it chooses to self-publish or partner remains to be seen.
The acquisition becomes the fifth studio under the recently-floated Sumo Group, after the buyout of CCP Newcastle at the start of the year. TCR joins Sumo’s other operations in Sheffield, Nottingham, Newcastle, and Pune, India.
