Viacom hires Take 2 MD to oversee games portfolio

Viacom has appointed former Take 2 managing director Arwed-Ralf Grenzbach as vice president of videogames, music and special products at Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products.

Grenzbach will oversee the interactive portfolio and support licensees across EMEA, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

"Our interactive and videogame business has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years and with Arwed's appointment we are now perfectly positioned to take this business to the next level," commented Jean-Philippe Randisi, MD of Viacom Consumer Products EMEA.

Prior to his new role, Grenzback spent three years with Take 2 Interactive in Germany.

Viacom's interests in the interactive entertainment market include Neopets.com, Harmonix and Xfire.

The Viacom-owned MTV Networks announced last week it plans to invest USD 500 million in games over the next two years.