August 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Playtika promotions, Appcharge's senior hire, SayGames' new head of PR, 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.

Moving up in mental health and public relations

Games industry veteran Warren Spector has joined mental health nonprofit Take This’ board of directors, set to help guide its advocacy and support in the world of games.

Also the co-founder and CCO of Aonic’s OtherSide Entertainment, Spector has decades of experience in the industry and creative leadership, and has worked on titles such as Deus Ex, System Shock and Epic Mickey.

He has spoken openly about his own mental health before.

"As someone who deals with my own mental health issues I know how little the game industry does to support developers and gamers who think and feel differently," said Spector.

"Take This is an organisation devoted to changing that. I'm proud that they've asked me to join their board of directors and I look forward to helping them achieve their goals: helping people who need it and offering advice to companies that may not think about mental health as an issue they must deal with."

Katya Sabirova has joined SayGames as head of PR, commencing her latest chapter in the world of public relations in the games industry.

Sabirova brings prior experience from recruitment agency Values Value and game jobs platform InGameJob. She served as the latter’s CEO until July 2025 and is also a co-founder.

"In July, I joined SayGames as Head of PR, and I’m thrilled about this new chapter," she posted on LinkedIn.

"I’m grateful for the trust the team has shown me and look forward to contributing in every way I can. On top of that, I’ve met fantastic colleagues here - people you can not only work with, but also have fun alongside. Looking forward to the journey ahead."

Playtika promotion and Vertigo Games’ new team builder

Nadav Moshes has been promoted to head of strategic platforms and partnerships at Playtika, marking his third role in four years at the Israeli publisher.

Moshes first joined the company in 2021 as competitive intelligence manager, establishing a programme focused on insights into products and marketing from the ground up. Today, his new role revolves around platform strategy, strengthening partnerships and leading strategic initiatives, aiming to pave the way for future growth.

"I’m happy to share that I’ve stepped into the role of head of strategic platforms and partnerships at Playtika," Moshes posted on LinkedIn.

FPS games developer and publisher Vertigo Games has hired Elif Doğanay as people and culture manager, set to help expand the company’s team.

Doğanay has made the move to Vertigo after spending the past year at SevenApps, where she led recruitment across all departments and made more than 30 strategic hires. She also organised team-building events and skills-based workshops.

"I was always that sister who got bullied for dying instantly in these games. Now I get to feel super cool, not just playing, but helping grow the team that actually builds two great titles in the genre," Doğanay posted on LinkedIn.

Developing business and pitching DTC’s potential at Aonic and Appcharge

Aonic has hired former Jagex marketer Benjie Clarke as its new senior VP of business development. In the role, Clarke will lead the company’s commercial and partnerships strategy globally, working with first-party studios and overseeing third-party content acquisition together with Aonic head of games Arthur Mostovoy.

Clarke’s move to Aonic follows a 2.5-year run at Megabit, where he served as managing director of global publishing. Prior to that, his experience spans Jagex, Mediatonic, Plarium, EA and more - having spent almost two decades in the games industry.

"Looking ahead, 2026 promises to be a monumental year for Aonic, and I am thrilled to embark on this journey with the team," he posted on LinkedIn.

Sales specialist Mickey Adler has joined Appcharge as senior BD manager, as the company looks to scale up to meet DTC demand after its recent $58 million funding round.

In his new role, Adler will aim to help more mobile developers tap into DTC, bringing his experience as a sales manager from ByteDance, Playsafe and Stash. Most recently, at Stash, Adler was sales and partnerships manager.

"After an amazing week at Gamescom, packed with promising conversations and taking home PocketGamer.biz's Best Payment Service Provider award, I couldn’t ask for a better start," he posted on LinkedIn.

New jobs, new opportunities

Playtika has promoted Ariel Navon from competitive intelligence manager to senior product and market insights manager.

Google has hired Mike Gullo as business development manager, content acquisition. He will focus on Google Play titles, bringing experience from Sensor Tower, Backbone and more.

After more than two years at Mattel, Nate Dykstra has been promoted to director of business development, digital games licencing.

Thrival founder Simon Sparks is now a co-founder of GameDataCore, where he’s also serving as COO.

Antti Kananen will support studios with their political MMOs as investor and advisor at Northern Lights Entertainment.

Minjae Kim has stepped away from freelance consulting to take up a full-time marketing position at Bit Odd, where she’s "cooking up something exciting behind the scenes".

Lennon Arcaro has joined Windwalk as CRO, promising data-driven organic outcomes as he looks to scale the company’s community-centric growth engine Harbor.

Leadership roles at Supercell and Spin Master

Supercell has hired Drussila Hollanda as its first-ever head of new games, marking her return to the company after previously serving as Hay Day’s second game lead.

Hollanda has already helped shape several game projects at Supercell, and with her return, will now be responsible for supporting new games teams across three continents. She will report directly to Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen.

Outside of Supercell, Hollanda has worked at Rovio, Wooga, Digital Chocolate, and founded her own company Papukaya, having over 20 years of games industry experience overall. She called her return to Supercell "a homecoming".

After spending the past three years in senior roles at Spin Master, Marc De Vellis has been promoted to EVP and president of its Digital Games Creative Centre.

This means he will lead all operations at the centre, oversee Spin Master’s flagship platforms like Toca Boca and PikNik, manage talent and more, with the aim of growing the company’s digital games portfolio.

"I look forward to building on the strong foundation of creativity and trust we’ve established with the millions of kids that engage with Toca Boca and PikNik," he said. 

AI, strategy and management

Scopely has hired Sharon Fisher to its Monopoly Go team, set to support AI integrations, team enablement, and trust and safety strategies at the company.

A Women in Games ambassador and Gaming Safety Coalition member, Fisher’s move to the Monopoly Go team follows over three years as global head of trust and safety at Keywords Studios. She has been in the industry for more than a decade.

"After an amazing time at Keywords Studios, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve officially joined the Scopely Monopoly Go team. In this new role I will focus on trust and safety strategies, AI integration and team enablement," Fisher posted on LinkedIn.

Former Chase A Cloud business development manager Alexandra Zheleva has joined Playades. She will go by the same job title at the alternative app store company, which focuses on the distribution and publishing of mobile games.

Zheleva has spent the past five years in marketing and business development, first at Imperia Online, then at Chase A Cloud, and is kicking off her new position at Playades by attending Gamescom 2025.

"In March, I wrapped up almost two incredible years at Chase A Cloud. It’s been an absolute pleasure working alongside such talented people and being part of some truly amazing projects," she posted on LinkedIn.

"Now, I’m thrilled to share my next chapter: I’ve joined Playades as a business development manager."

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

After six years at Bravestars Games in business analytics, data management and more, Duc Le has been appointed CEO.

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.