Kabam promotes Jeff Howell to newly created CTO role

Kabam has named Jeff Howell as its chief technology officer, the first time that any employee at Kabam has carried that title.

Prior to this, Kabam didn't have a CTO, and Howell was its senior director of engineering. However, the San Francisco based mobile company has created the role as part of its strategic shift towards larger games with a global audience.

Howell will lead Kabam's global tech strategy, as well as the development and implementation of its proprietary engine, Fuse & Sparx. He will be based in the company's Vancouver office, and will report to president of studios Aaron Loeb and CCO Mike Verdu.

"Jeff is the natural choice as Kabam's first chief technology officer," said Loeb in a statement. "He has been an integral member of the Kabam team, having led the continued advancement of technology in our games to be the highest quality mobile games in the industry.

"Through Jeff's leadership, Kabam is producing some of the highest-fidelity games in the mobile games industry, with tools and technology that allow our artists and designers maximum freedom to innovate and express their creativity."

Howell joined Kabam as part of its acquisition of Exploding Barrel Games Inc., where he was the CTO. Prior to that, Howell had worked at EA Vancouver and Relic Entertainment.