MATHIAS HAUTEFORT APPOINTED EVP & COO AS HEAD OF GLOBAL
Executive Vice President and COO, with international Sales Experience in New
Lyon - France, March 3, 2008 - Infogrames Entertainment announces today the appointment of Mathias Hautefort as Head of Global Distribution. Mathias Hautefort will be responsible for Atari's business in the US, Europe and Asia.
In conjunction with the appointment of Phil Harrison as Head of Group Publishing and Game Development, Mathias Hautefort is appointed as Head of Group Distribution. As Head of Global Distribution, Mathias Hautefort will be in charge of optimizing the global distribution network with best-in-class sales channels in the major markets of the US, Europe and Asia. Thanks to his wide knowledge of Infogrames' publishing activities and his international sales experience in new media and new technologies, Mathias Hautefort has the complementary skills and capabilities to make new distribution alliances and to take advantage of the enormous growth opportunities in the interactive entertainment market.
David Gardner, the CEO of Infogrames, declared: "I am pleased to appoint Mathias Hautefort as Head of Global Distribution. He is a key member of the company and as Executive Vice President for Worldwide Publishing and Production, he has been successful to trigger a relaunch of the Publishing initiatives of the Group. I am confident in his sales experience and his organizational and management skills to give a new impetus to Group Distribution."
Regarding his appointment, Mathias Hautefort stated: " My appointment as Head of Global Distribution is a new exciting challenge for me. Recent appointments of David Gardner and Phil Harrison is not only a new momentum in Infogrames' history but also in my career and I am thrilled to think it will be the most exciting one."
A Successful track record in New Media and New technologies
He joined Infogrames as Executive Vice President for Worldwide Publishing and Production last year and actively worked on the optimization and the development of the Group's intellectual properties as well as managed product development. He is
also in charge of operational and global coordination of the Group (Chief Operating Officer).
Before joining Infogrames as Executive Vice President for Worldwide Publishing and Production, Mathias Hautefort was Chief Executive Officer of Viaccess S.A., a France Telecom Content Division company, since March 2005. While there, he contributed to the company's turnaround by creating a strategy for redirecting its activities towards the Telecom market and established an offer of converging products.
In June 2002 he became Chief Financial Officer of Noos, the leading French cable operator, and was soon promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Until September 2004, he ran successfully the financial and operational turnaround of Noos on an increasingly competitive market.
From June 2000, he held the position of Director of Media Activities for the Suez Group (Communication Division).
From 1997 to 2000, Mathias Hautefort was Technical Advisor in the cabinet offices of Christian Pierret, French Secretary of State for Industry, and Technical Advisor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Christian Sautter, French Ministers of Economy, Finance and Industry.
Mathias Hautefort, 40 years old, is a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Telecoms.
About Infogrames Entertainment and Atari
Infogrames Entertainment (IESA), the parent company of the Atari Group, is listed on the Paris Euronext stock exchange (ISIN code: FR-0000052573 - Eurolist Compartment B) and has two principal subsidiaries: Atari Europe, a privately-held company, and Atari, Inc., a United States corporation listed on NASDAQ (ATAR).
The Atari Group is a producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software for all market segments and in all existing game formats (Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony) and
on CD-ROM for PC. Its games are sold in more than 60 countries.
The Atari Group's extensive catalogue of popular games is based on original franchises (Alone in the Dark, V-Rally, Test Drive, etc.) and international licenses (Dragon Ball Z, Dungeons & Dragons, etc.).
For more information: http://www.infogrames.com
Contact :
Cécile SORNAY - Corporate and Financial Communication Director
Tel : + 33 (4) 37 64 30 00 - Fax : + 33 (4) 37 64 30 35 cecile.sornay@atari.com