Takao Yamane joins Platinum Games as chief business officer | Jobs Roundup: July 2022

It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we compile them in semi-regular round-ups.

If you have new appointments or transitions in your company that belong here, please send the names of the appointees, new role and company, and prior role and company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.

Gary Rosenfeld | Head of business development, Big Fish Games

Big Fish Games has named Gary Rosenfeld as its head of business development.

President and founder of consulting company BD Labs, Rosenfeld has had a career of over 20 years in developing businesses across companies.

Over the years he's held positions such as senior vice president of business development at THQ and held the same role in interactive games at 20th Century Fox.

Takao Yamane | Chief business officer, Platinum Games

Platinum Games has announced that its hired Takao Yamane as its new chief business officer.

Previously serving as managing director of Nintendo of Europe, he brings with him over 30 years of experience in the games industry.

Throughout his career he's held positions such as vice president of Nintendo France and managing director of sales for the division as well.

As reported by Siliconera, Yamane notes that joining PlatinumGames marks a "significant" change to the studio behind the Bayonetta franchise.

Sebastian Totté | Senior country manager for the UK, France and Benelux, Xsolla

Video games commerce company Xsolla announced that Sebastian Totté has been hired as its senior country manager for the UK, France and Benelux.

Totté joins the games firm after serving seven years as strategic partner manager for Meta audience network.

Prior to working at Meta he was premium partner manager of EMEA at InMobi.

"The UK, France and Benelux region is home to some of the world's leading video games companies and a hotbed of global games industry talent..." Totté said.

"I'm so pleased to be joining Xsolla as we seek to work more closely with gaming companies in these markets and build teams of talented people locally."

Four new promotions | Wizards of the Coast

Recently Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast announced quartet of new promotions: Elise Ashwood is now associate brand manager, Amber Turner is now brand manager, Georgia Fireman is also brand manager, and Mark Ward has been appointed director of corporate communications of EMEA & APAC.

Following an internship, Elise Ashwood has been promoted to associate brand manager for Dungeons & Dragons. This position is her first in the video games industry.

After interning with Wizards of the Coast in 2020, Amber Turner has gone on to be named brand manager for Magic: The Gathering, EMEA. Prior to this new role Turner served as EMEA associate brand manager.

Georgia Fireman is now brand manager for Magic: The Gathering, UK. Fireman first joined the company in 2021 and with this role he will continue to help grow its UK market presence.

Mark Ward is now director of corporate communications, EMEA & APAC. He brings with him over 25 years of experience in PR and corporate communications from video games and film. Ward joined Wizards of the Coast a year ago.

Charles Boyd | unknown role, new project

Bioware has announced that long time creative director Charles Boyd has departed Bioware, his next role and project are currently unknown now.

Boyd originally joined the company in 2006 as a writer and throughout his 16-year career he rose its the ranks.

He played a key role in the development of 2011's MMOPRG Star Wars: The Old Republic.

"Charles has been with the company for 16 years and played a significant role in the [Star Wars: The Old Republic] success," the company said.

"Star Wars: The Old Republic truly is something special and hitting our 10-year landmark together was remarkable. I would like to thank him for playing his part in making that happen; we will miss Charles as a friend and as a colleague and wish him all the best in his next adventure."

David Delve | Head of talent acquisition, Smoking Gun Interactive

Former Jagex's senior talent acquisition specialist David Delve joins Smoking Gun Interactive as its head of talent acquisition.

Throughout Delve's over 10-year career in the games industry he's worked in talent acquisition.

He held similar roles in various games companies such as Scopely, Zynga, and Sega.

Delve formerly announced his new position with the developer of Phobies on LinkedIn.

"I'm delighted to be given this opportunity to join such an experienced and talented team at Smoking Gun Interactive, the enthusiasm and passion for their work is infectious and I'm really looking forward to building out the Smoking Gun brand, and help make the studio a destination of choice for those looking to hone their craft in the industry."

Adam Campbell | program manager, Amazon Games

Adam Campbell has been hired as Amazon Games Studios' program manager.

Throughout his over 10-year career in the games industry, he has served in multiple senior product managerial roles.

Campbell has worked at various companies such as Miniclip, Azoomee, and Hopster.

During 2019, he also co-founded PCO in Play, an organization dedicated to increasing the representation of people of color in the games industry.

He formally announced his new position on Twitter, "Pleased to announce that today I join Amazon Game Studios as a program manager."

"Lots to learn but very excited to meet the team."

Tim Andrade | director of esports partnerships and licensing, 2K Games

Tim Andrade has been hired by 2K Games as its director of esports partnerships and licensing.

Prior to his new role, Andrade served as senior business development manager at Capcom.

Throughout his career, he's held multiple senior roles at various companies such as Sony, Bandai Namco, and Newzoo.

Andrade formally announced his hiring on a LinkedIn post, "I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Director, Esport Partnerships and Licensing at [2K Games]."

Anna Megill | Narrative lead, Playground Games

Award-winning writer and narrative designer Anna Megill has joined Playground Games as narrative lead for Fable.

Throughout her career, she has worked in the games industry for nearly 20 years as a writer, having worked on titles such as Control, Guild Wars 2, and Dishonored.

Megill has held lead narrative roles at companies such as Square Enix, Cynixy LLC, and Remedy Entertainment.

She formally announced her new position on Twitter, "Some exciting news to end the week. I'm now the narrative lead on [Fable]. Wooo!

Ophir Lupu | unannounced position, unannounced company

Ophir Lupu leaves United Talent Agency as a partner and its head of games after a decade.

As reported by Variety, the exit with the company was said to be amicable, but no further details were provided about Lupu's next job landing.

During his time at the agency, he's represented clients such as Bioshock's Ken Levine, developer Nyamakop, and also aided "Rick and Morty" co-creator Justin Roiland establish studio Squanch Games.

Additionally, he's raised funds and negotiated M&A deals for gaming companies over the years as well.

Six new hires | Green Man Gaming

Recently British video game publisher Green Man Gaming announced six new hires: Adele Simpson as executive VP of performance marketing, Kay Winkley as executive VP of commercial trading, and Will Quantrill as affiliate and influencer manager.

The hiring continues with Chris White as senior manager, business development, & content acquisition, Tom Higgins as commercial manager, and Thomas Williams as content acquisitions manager

Adele Simpson brings over 20 years of experience in performance marketing and digital marketing. She joins the publisher after an 11-year stint at Bauer Media where she was worked on building brands.

Kay Winkley originally joined Green Man Gaming in February 2020 as a senior buyer. Winkley has held similar roles after holding similar senior positions on the Xbox EMEA category team, Nintendo, and at third party companies.

Will Quantrill brings 5 years of experience in digital marketing for publishing and on the agency side. Quantrill previously worked and held roles at Bauer Media and Thoughtmix.

Chris White joins Green Man Gaming after working as PR and partnerships manager at Frontier Developments. Throughout White's 13-year career, PR he's worked in PR with various companies such as 2K, Capcom, and Bethesda.

Tom Higgins returns to the games industry after two years, "I am thrilled to be back, and excited to get involved with some really exciting projects with the Green Man Gaming team".

Thomas Williams joined on back in 2020 in a business support role and was eventually promoted to his current role as content acquisition manager.

Paul Bertone | Technical design director, 343 Industries

Former Bungie design director Paul Bertone has joined 343 Industries as technical design director to work with the developer on Halo Infinite.

Bertone has had a nearly 20 year career in the video games industry, having spent 11 with the Halo maker Bungie.

Prior to his current role, he's worked in lead design roles at various companies such as Probably Monsters, Undead Labs, and Industrial Toys.

Bertone's new position was announced on Twitter by Joseph Staten, head of creative for Halo Infinite.

"Paul and I met in 1999, back in Bungie's Chicago days, and then shipped Halo 1-3, ODST and Reach together," Staten said.

"I'm thrilled to have Paul help lead the future of [Halo Infinite]."

Lucy O'Brien | Director of editorial communications, Ubisoft

Former IGN executive editor of features, Lucy O' Brien joins Assassin's Creed maker Ubisoft as director of editorial communications.

Before this new role with the gaming firm she was worked at IGN for a decade. Throughout her career she's worked at various editorial roles such as editor-in-chief of Future Publishing's Australian PlayStation magazine, PSM3.

"Stoked to finally, finally announce I've joined the incredible team at [Ubisoft] as director of editorial communications," O'Brien said in her announcement on Twitter.

"The internal editorial team is stupidly talented and it's an honor to jump aboard the ship!"

Rob Crossley | Vice president of publishing, Playstack

Rob Crossley has been promoted to vice president of publishing at game publisher Playstack, he originally joined on in 2015 as head of discovery.

He brings with him a career in which he's worked in video game publishing and media coverage.

Prior to working at Playstack he was head of games and digital at Creative England. He formally announced his new promotion in a LinkedIn post.

Don't usually indulge in making a song and dance about promotions but this one is a major step for me and I'm very proud of the journey to get here," he said

I'm now VP of Publishing at Playstack. I'll be leading the PC & Console team through our next phase of evolution and success. It's an incredibly exciting time...

Jon Rooke | Vice president of marketing, Thunderful

Games publisher Thunderful has announced that Jon Rooke has joined on as the company's vice president of marketing.

Rooke brings with him over a career of over 25 years in video games and prior to this position he was senior director of international marketing and communications at 2k Games.

He's worked in a variety of roles at gaming firms such as Microsoft, Sega, and Creative Assembly.

"Jon's incredible experience and background of working for some of the biggest players in the games industry is going be an invaluable resource to Thunderful and we are excited to have him join our growing team as Vice President of Marketing," said Thunderful chief games officer Agostino Simonetta.

"Jon will complement the fantastic team we already have here working to grow our successful games business."

Michael Lenz | Chief Analytics Officer, InnoGames

German gaming firm InnoGames has promoted Michael Lenz as its first chief analytics officer,, he originally joined the company in 2013 as head of analytics.

In his new role will include overseeing responsibilities such as marketing and game analytics, data science, and monetization. Prior to working at InnoGames he was also head of analysis at online game developer Bigpoint GmbH.

"With his rare ability to turn data into insights and insights into impactful initiatives, Michael has contributed greatly to InnoGames' success, said InnoGames co-founder and CEO Hendrik Klindworth.

"His appointment as CAO and fifth member of the Management Team reflects both his personal achievements and the ever-growing importance of data-driven decision-making."

Keira McGarvey | Head of people, FuturLab

Developer of PowerWash Simulator has appointed Build A Boy Rocket HR manager, Keira_McGarvey as its new head of people.

Keira_McGarvey has spent her career in leadership HR roles at companies such as Bakkavor, TenTel, and Aegon.

In her previous role she implemented human resource infrastructure as the company grow in staff across multiple countries.

With FuturLab, McGarvey will also be creating a people strategy and HR infrastructure to support its employee expansion.

Four new hires | Wizards of the Coast

Recently Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast announced quartet of new hires: Binita Patel as team lead customer service E-COM, Ryan Blackwell as UK senior key account manager and Leonora Tomlinson-Bennett as UK social and influencer manager.

Binita Patel brings 15 years of experience where she has worked with E-com and UK grocers' businesses often. Patel has a background in supply chain and customer service.

Ryan Blackwell joins Wizards of the Coat from Reckitt, where he served as national account manager. He also brings experience from similar positions at Activision Blizzard, Mattel, and Spin Master.

Leonora Tomlinson-Bennett also brings years of experience, having worked communications and marketing for FACEIT. She's worked in various social media manger roles for companies such as Kairos Media and Betway Group.

Mary DeMarle | Senior Narrative Director, BioWare

BioWare has snapped up games writing veteran Mary DeMarle for an unspecified project.

DeMarle has spent the last 15 years at Eidos Montreal, where she served as executive narrative director on multiple titles in the Deus Ex Franchise. She also created the story and led the writing team on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, released in 2021.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz last July, DeMarle detailed the journey of creating the Guardians game based on an established IP, but making it a different to pre-existing media.

"They basically told us: 'We want you to create a game that is the Eidos Montreal version of Guardians of the Galaxy," DeMarle said. "We don't want you to make the movie version, we don't want you to make the comic books. We want you to make this your own, as long as you stay true to the essence of who these characters are'."

Grace Hui Tang | Independent Director, NetEase

Chinese tech outfit NetEase brings its board count up to six with the appointment of Grace Hui Tang as its newest independent director.

Tang has worked at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for the last 30 years, 19 of which she spent as an audit partner.

In the new role, Tang will also serve as chairperson of the board's audit, compensation, nominating and committees, as well as a member of its environmental, social and governance committee.

"We are pleased to have Grace join our board," said NetEase CEO William Ding. "Her deep expertise in accounting, finance and business management, as well as her well-respected career distinguished by her commitment and diligence, make her the perfect fit for our board and our business."

Three new hires | Curve Games

UK publisher Curve has announced a trio of new appointments: Charlie Andre-Barrett as head of business development, Kristian von Fersen as franchise director, and Lynn Daniel as director of public relations.

Andre-Barrett brings over 20 years of experience to the role and joins from Team17, where he served as head of sales over the last year. Prior to that role, he spent eight years as a sales manager at Bethesda Softworks.

Von Fersen joins Curve from digital agency Dorset Creative, where he served as head of delivery. He also brings experience from senior roles at Electronic Arts, United Front Games and Relic Entertainment.

Lynn Daniel also brings 25 years' worth of experience to Curve, having managed PR campaigns with Sega and Atari as director of PR and head of communications, respectively. She's also a co-founder of tech PR outfit Bope.

"It is an exciting time for Curve Games as we continue to strengthen our presence within the indie developer space to become the go-to publisher for unique and creative videogames," said Curve Games CEO John Clark.

"We are delighted to welcome Charlie, Kristian and Lynn to the Curve team. I'm confident their considerable collective talents will further invigorate our busy teams and help us drive the business forward."