New hire roundup: Creative Assembly names Gareth Edmondson COO
New role for ex-Ubisoft Reflections managing director and Jeffrey Lin leaving Riot Games lead our first movers and shakers round-up
It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we've decided to start compiling them in semi-regular round-ups. If you have new appointments or transitions in your company that belong here, please get in touch with us here.
Gareth Edmondson joins Creative Assembly as COO - Formerly the managing director of Ubisoft Reflections and the CEO of Thumbstar, Edmondson will bring 20 years of industry experience to his new role as the COO of one of the UK's leading development studios. Edmondson replaces the outgoing COO Martin Servante, who has taken the role of Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business Planning & Development Services at Creative Assembly's parent company, Sega.
Jeffrey Lin departs Riot Games - League of Legends' lead designer of social systems has left Riot after four years at the company. Lin is best known for his efforts to promote harmony and civility within LoL's community, with an emphasis on reforming rather than banning problematic players. Lin did not reveal his next move, but he asked his Twitter followers to, "keep giving feedback and working with Riot to make League last for another decade, so I can one day teach my future son how to play this crazy game."
Jason Green signs on with Gobo Brighton - Boss Alien co-founder Jason Green has joined Studio Gobo to serve as art director at the company's recently opened Brighton studio. Green's work history extends well beyond Boss Alien and the studio's hit CSR Racing; his more than 20 years of experience also includes work on Split/Second, MotoGP, and Mortal Kombat. At Gobo Brighton, he will be overseeing the visual and user experience for the company's mobile games.
Ubisoft creates lead independent director role - The first person to occupy the new position is Didier Crespel, who was unanimously elected by Ubisoft's board of directors. As lead independent director, Crespel will be the main point of contact for the French publisher's shareholders, responsible for communicating their questions and concerns to the board. Crespel, who has been an independent director and chairman of the audit committee at Ubisoft since November 2013, will remain in the role until the next election in two years time.
Abrakam appoints new head of business development - The Belgian studio has hired Corin Cole, who worked closely with Alienware over six years in a similar role at Heaven Media. Most recently, Cole was the marketing director for Meltdown Bars, an international chain of eSports bars. He arrives at Abrakam as it prepares to take its strategy card game Faerie from Early Access to an official launch in Q3 2016.
Victor "Spooky" Fontanez joins Split Media Labs - A prominent figure in the live-streaming of fighting games, Victor "Spooky" Fontanez has taken the role of program manager at Split Media Labs' XSplit Broadcaster. Fontanez will continue to use his "Team Spooky" stream for broadcasting, with a greater proportion of its content now expected to come from The Phillipines, where Split Media is based, and Asia in general.