August 2025’s Movers and Shakers: New COOs at Apple and Mattel163, Roblox lands director of new Innovation Studio, Scopely veteran steps down, and more

To keep you up to date with the latest movers and shakers in the mobile games industry, we've put together a regular roundup of the latest hires, promotions and, in some cases, exits.

If you've recently joined a company or bagged a big promotion, or you're an employer that's just made a hire, drop us an email at news@pocketgamer.biz.

New COOs at Mattel163 and Apple

EA veteran Devin Nambiar has joined Mattel163 as COO, bringing over a decade of experience to the mobile games maker. A joint venture between American toy manufacturer Mattel and Chinese games studio NetEase, Mattel163 has hired Nambiar as it continues to bridge the West and East and grow its global presence.

His work will help shape Mattel’s "digital evolution", following his nine years spent at EA leading teams across the APAC region. During that time, Nambiar’s focus included games like FIFA Mobile Asia, Red Alert Online Mobile and Plants Vs Zombies 2 in China.

He spent his last four years at EA working as GM head of Asia product and partnered development, leading first-party and second-party free-to-play games.

"After an incredible nine-year journey at EA leading teams across APAC, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined Mattel163 as chief operating officer," Nambiar announced on LinkedIn.

Apple’s senior VP of operations Sabih Khan has been promoted to COO, as longtime employee Jeff Williams has stepped down.

With 30 years at Apple already behind him, Khan’s time at the company has seen him oversee its global supply chain, including manufacturing, logistics and supplier responsibility. He has already helped reduce Apple’s carbon footprint by over 60%, and CEO Tim Cook has called him one of Apple’s "central architects".

Meanwhile, Williams will continue to oversee Apple’s design team, Apple Watch and the company’s health initiatives until his retirement later this year.

Growing in new directions at Sett and Roblox

Yuval Arbel has been hired in a partnerships growth role at Sett after spending seven years between ironSource and Unity.

Bringing experience in website strategy, project planning, resource allocation and more, Arbel’s next venture will see her help creators break the creative limits at Sett, the AI engine for mobile game makers.

The company emerged from stealth this May having already raised $27 million between seed funding and its Series A, looking to help studios reduce their production time.

Chiwei Lee has joined Roblox as the director of its new Innovation Studio, set to explore the intersection of culture, technology, behaviour and business with a future-focused lens.

His background includes more than a decade spent at Meta - from co-founding the Creative Shop at Facebook, to becoming group lead of technology and entertainment at Meta, culminating in his latest role driving advertising and tech partnerships as director of the Creative Shop in the Americas.

The move to Roblox marks something of a return to his roots but also "a launch forward".

Lee posted on LinkedIn: "I’ve spent my career as a builder and creative leader, exploring the future through innovative solutions and systems at scale - across 3D design, social-first creativity, mobile video, immersive worlds and the frontiers of generative and agentic AI. And, at this moment, Roblox feels like ground zero for what’s possible."

Bringing advice and experience to Duolingo and Maliyo Games

With Duolingo acquiring the majority of Space Ape spinoff NextBeat’s team, co-founder Simon Hade has come along for the ride. Hade and most of his team will be helping Duolingo expand beyond language learning into a broader education app - taking new directions including maths, chess and music.

"From day one, it was clear that Duolingo and NextBeat share the same values: putting learners first, obsessing over great design, and never taking ourselves too seriously," said Hade.

"Joining forces means we can bring our passion for music and play to a platform that is redefining how people learn."

Bringing experience working with Rovio, Match Group and from her own consulting enterprise RZAIN, Claire Rozain has joined Maliyo Games as an advisor.

In this role, she will bring her expertise in creative strategy, user acquisition and global scaling to support Maliyo’s mission to build African games for the world.

"Thrilled to announce that I’m joining Maliyo Games as an advisor. Maliyo is pioneering the African gaming industry with incredible talent, culturally resonant games, and a bold vision for the future of interactive entertainment," Rozain posted on LinkedIn.

"Let’s build, innovate, and inspire together. Here’s to the next level of gaming."

Leading roles at Nazara, Scopely, ZeptoLab and more

Rohit Sharma has been hired as executive director at Nazara, bringing more than 25 years of experience in games and digital media. Bringing him on board is expected to bolster IP-driven games across platforms and genres.

Scopely has hired Quinn Shelton as its new VP and general manager. Meanwhile, VP of product and studio operations Dave Bisceglia has wrapped up his final week at the company, where he’s spent the past five years.

New to Krafton India, Shashikiran R has been appointed product manager bringing experience from match-3, puzzle and board games on mobile.

Ekaterina Baturina has been newly hired to Cut the Rope maker ZeptoLab as head of business development.

Jason Robinson has joined Embrace as chief revenue officer following the company’s recent Web RUM launch, looking to bring user-focused visibility to engineering teams. A seasoned leader, Robinson brings more than two decades’ experience to the role.

Village Studio Games has hired free-to-play games consultant and former Rovio VP of product Mark Sorrell as its new director of development.

Global games development partner Side has 20 studios across 14 countries; in the UK, Elvina Antonova has started a new position as head of art, client success.

Zynga veteran Shailja Mittal has joined Mobile Premier League as associate director of growth (UA), driving user acquisition strategy, creative innovation and more.

New hires at Jagex, Metacore and more

Pedro Miranda has joined MistPlay as principal product manager for its rewards hub LoyaltyPlay.

Former Huuuge Games VP of strategy and investment Dawnesh Mistry has moved to Jagex, hired as the company’s SVP of strategy.

Metacore has hired Ricardo Loreto Rodríguez as a game programmer for Merge Mansion, bringing senior engineer experience from Wooga.

Bringing management experience from Blizzard and later Activision Blizzard, Sam Banda has started a new role at Bandai Namco Entertainment UK as communications manager.

Roblox has hired Austin Rysyk in a recruiting role, following similar positions at Riot and Epic Games.

2K has hired Stephen Peacock as director of AI, bringing more than a quarter of a century’s experience in the games industry.

After four years at Riot Games, having joined through the acquisition of his studio Kanga, Jake Perlman-Gar has left the company to move into investing. He’s now the managing director at Alignment Group, which makes investments into media, entertainment, sports and games.

Appointments and promotions at Tilting Point, Netflix and others

Tilting Point has promoted Marina Farran to VP of business development after 1.5 years at the company, shifting from a hybrid role to an on-site position in Barcelona.

Netflix’s Ray Bautista has been promoted from senior director of business development, external games portfolio strategy to senior director, head of games content acquisitions and licencing. He’s been a part of the streaming giant’s games team for 3.5 years.

Yigui Sun has been appointed growth lead at Kwalee, marking his third promotion in four years at the studio. Meanwhile, former product manager Emily L has left for a new position at Kohort, where she is also serving as product manager.

Kabam’s Nebojsha Mitrikesk has been promoted from senior product manager to principal product manager. He’s been with the company since 2021.

Liftoff has promoted Mariana Mendes to the role of senior account manager as she approaches her fourth anniversary with the company.

Ace Games has promoted Latife Say from game artist to lead game artist, the latest step in her nine-year career in the games industry.