Empire Interactive US appointments
P.J. Snavely and Zach Rener join publisher's North American operation.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUSTIN, Texas - May 6, 2008 - Empire Interactive, a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced the addition of two new hires to the North American team, P.J. Snavely, director of product management, and Zach Rener, director of product marketing. Snavely and Rener join Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales, in Empire Interactive's new Austin offices, spearheading the company's growth in North America.
"Zach and PJ bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the video game industry to their positions with Empire Interactive," said Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales, Empire Interactive. "It's exciting to have added two such intelligent and energetic individuals to the family as we grow the business in a new territory. Their experience will enable us to provide our North American business partners with outstanding service and quality products for our consumers."
In his new role, Snavely, who has more than 13 years of experience in game production across 10 platforms, will be leading and facilitating communication with development studios, first-party contacts, and identifying new project opportunities with potential development partners. Prior to joining Empire Interactive, Snavely spent five years at Sony Computer Entertainment America as a senior producer working on games like NBA PSP and High Velocity Bowling. He is considered an industry expert in sports game development and artificial intelligence, with a proven track record for his work on the Tony La Russa Baseball and NBA Shootout franchises.
As director of product marketing, Rener will lead marketing efforts for Empire Interactive games published in the U.S. Prior to joining Empire Interactive, he was content director at ON Networks, an online television network in Austin. As creative marketing director at Aspyr Media, Rener worked on a wide variety of titles across multiple platforms including Stubbs the Zombie for which he produced the original soundtrack.
Before transitioning into the interactive entertainment industry, Rener spent two years in the motion picture production, working on films for Sony and Warner Bros. He then made a move into advertising working on popular brands like Kinko's, United Health Care, and Sea World. Rener brings a broad variety of experience and knowledge in the advertising, marketing, film and interactive entertainment industries to his new role at Empire Interactive.
About Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive is a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software that has been in business for 18 years. Headquartered in the UK, Empire Interactive also has offices in the U.S., Germany, Italy, France and Spain. The company develops and publishes a varied range of titles for all current platforms in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Games such as Starsky & Hutch, Big Mutha Truckers, Ford Racing and FlatOut have all enjoyed success across the world. Its budget label, Xplosiv, is one of the fastest growing game labels in Europe. Further information about Empire Interactive and its products can be found at www.empireinteractive.com.
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