Jobs Roundup: March 2024 | Xbox hires Leo Olebe as VP of global partnerships

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.

Bobby Loya | Senior vice president, Scopely

Scopely has hired Bobby Loya as its senior vice president, head of studio business development and developer relations.

His new role will involve building game teams and overseeing external partnerships.

As an Activision alum, Loya worked for the games firm for 15 years, last serving as its vice president of studios and external development.

His game credits include Sekiro: Shadows Dice Twice, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Crash Team Rumble.

"I am thrilled to join the team for this exciting chapter and continue to build even bigger franchises ahead," said Loya.

Eric Bowman | Chief technical officer, King

Eric Bowman has been named as King’s news chief technical officer.

He will report to president Tjodolf Sommestad, and Bowman’s new role will involve aligning the firm’s technology strategy throughout its business operations.

His career includes working at TomTom as its chief technology officer. He was with the tech firm for five years.

In the past, he also held the position of vice president of digital foundation with Zalando SE.

Jairo Lopes | Third-party business development manager, Microsoft

Jairo Lopes has announced that he's been hired as a third-party business development manager for global content partnerships at Microsoft.

His career includes a four-year stint at Lionbridge Games, where he spent the last two years serving as business development director.

Lopes also worked in business development for Hermit Crab Game Studio.

In his social media post about the hiring, he said, "I have always been a fan of Xbox's commitment to making gaming accessible to everyone, and from the moment this opportunity came up, it felt like a dream come true, my first week here has only reaffirmed that feeling."

Sandsoft hires duo

Sandsoft has hired Emanuel Costan and Alexandre Alberti.

Alberti joins the studio as its newest game developer. Before his new role, he worked as a hybrid server and client senior developer at Zeptolab. Alberti was with the company for four years.

Meanwhile, Costan will become the lead artist at Sandsoft; he previously served as art manager at Product Madness.

His career experience includes working as creative director and co-owner at Madlight Studio.

Leo Olebe | Vice president of global partnerships, Xbox

Microsoft has hired Leo Olebe as its new vice president of global partnerships at Xbox.

Olebe has worked at various gaming and tech firms throughout his decades-long career.

He served as senior global director of game partnerships at Facebook. Olebe was with the firm for five years.

Before his new position, he had a two-year stint as global head of gaming for YouTube.

In the announcement of his hiring on social media, Olebe said, "It is with great honor and excitement that I'm happy to share that today I'm starting a new position as Vice President, Global Partnerships, Xbox at Microsoft!

"A huge thank you to Lori Wright, Sarah Bond and Phil Spencer for the opportunity to join such a great team with a fantastic vision for the future of Games."

Chris Paulson | Executive vice president of games publishing, Skybound Games

Skybound Games has hired Chirs Paulson as its new executive vice president and general manager of games publishing.

He will oversee the firm's commercial and marketing efforts for its game offerings.

Before the new role, Paulson was vice president of product management of Diablo at Blizzard Entertainment.

During his tenure at Activision Blizzard, he also served as chief of staff to the CEO.

"I am humbled and excited to join a company with such a rich history of creating fandom through compelling storytelling and world creation…I'm especially excited about the secret project the team has already been working on; I can't wait to help bring this exceptional game to the world!" said Paulson.

Blandine Prost | Global business development director, Keywords Studios

Keywords Studios has named Blandine Prost as global business development director.

Prost originally joined the games firm in 2014 as a client partner.

Throughout her career, she was sales director for Europe and Japan at Babel Media. Prost was with the company for fourteen years.

"Having seen the video games industry evolve over the past 25 years, from back when we were faxing bug reports to what it is today, I'm excited to see the potential of where it can go in my new role at Keywords Studios – working with talented and inspiring people along the way," she said.

Aaron Loeb | Operating partner, Griffin Gaming Partners

Griffin Gaming Partners has appointed Aaron Loeb as its operating partner.

Loeb brings with him experience that includes working at Scopely as chief business officer.

Throughout his career he also served as president for Fox Next Games at Disney. He was with the company for two years.

Meanwhile, while at Kabam for two years, he was live services president of studios. Throughout his professional career Loeb has also worked as an angel investor and advisor.

"I pride myself in providing teams with tailored insights, support, and firm, clear challenges based on their mission and their creative vision rather than institutional fear and doubt," said Loeb.

"I'm a sponge for interesting methodologies and I've seen a lot of them, an advantage of having worked with some of the world’s best creators in games, theater, film, and television."

Marc Allera | Chairman of the board, Jagex

Jagex has appointed Marc Allera as its new chairman of the board.

Allera's appointment aims to assist the firm with its future business operations.

Allera has worked at firms such as Sega, Three UK, and EE throughout his career and brings experience as a chief commercial officer.

Currently, he's serving as CEO of the consumer division at BT.

"I'm looking forward to using my experience with content, consumers, and communities to support Phil [Mansell] and his team to achieve their plans for RuneScape, Old School RuneScape, and other titles, as well as working with the leadership team and new owners CVC and Haveli to invest and help drive success in this exciting next chapter for Jagex," said Allera.

Agostino Simonetta | Chief Commercial officer, GSC Game World

GSC Game World has hired Agostino Simonetta as its new chief commercial officer.

Simonetta will lead publishing and business development at the firm.

His career includes a two-year stint at Thunderful Group, where he last served as chief games officer. He also worked at Microsoft for six years as director of global partnership management for ID@Xbox.

Before Xbox, he served as senior account manager of development at PlayStation Europe for five years.

"I am thrilled to collaborate with the talented team in bringing our shared vision to fruition. I am excited about the launch of Stalker 2 and look forward to contributing to its success, as well as to the exciting future plans that we can build together," said Simonetta.

Roblox expands with duo appointments

Roblox's leadership has grown with the new appointments of John Love and Allison McDuffee.

Love steps into the role of vice president of business development. He previously worked at Disney Interactive as VP of interactive experiences.

Meanwhile, Allison McDuffee has been named global head of brand insights.

Before her new role, McDuffee was Twitch’s insights and measurement head.

Murray Pannell | Chief marketing officer, Playfusion

Murray Pannell has announced he's joined Playfusion as its new chief marketing officer.

Prior to his new role, he worked as senior vice president of global marketing at Build A Rocket Boy.

His career experience includes a five-year stint as Europe vice president of publishing with 2k.

In the past, he was also UK and Ireland marketing director at PlayStation.

Remco Verheij | Chief financial officer, Newzoo

Newzoo has named Remco Verheij as its chief financial officer.

Throughout Verheij’s work history, he served as JDE Peet’s global FPA reporting and analysis manager. He was with the company for three years.

He also worked at Activision Blizzard for four years as a senior manager.