February’s Mobile Movers and Shakers: Exits at Space Ape, Tilting Point and Fingersoft, new leadership at Mojang and LEGO Digital Play, 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.
Below you can see our regularly updated roundup of mobile movers and shakers from late January and February. You can check out our previous roundup here.
Exits at Space Ape, Tilting Point and Fingersoft
Space Ape founder and CEO John Earner is leaving the London developer after 13 years. The studio has officially become Supercell London following the Finnish company’s 100% acquisition of the Chrome Valley Customs maker last year.
All of the company’s original founders have now left. Former CTO Toby Moore left the studio in 2018, while co-founder and CxO Simon Hade has set up interactive music outfit NextBeat, which houses titles like the Space Ape-developed Beatstar and Country Star. You can read our full interview on the latter here.
“As of this morning, Space Ape Games is officially Supercell London,” said Earner.
“We’ll be shutting the office for a transformation – orange to black – before relaunching in March. And after 13 incredible years, I’ll be stepping away from the biz next week for a much-needed break.
“Simon Hade and I co-founded Space Ape with a simple vision of making the best mobile games for the most people. We battled through ups and downs and forged one of the best game teams in the world. Joining up with Supercell is proof of that.
"Space Ape is home to the most talented, dedicated, and wonderful people I’ve ever worked with. Supercell is lucky to have them, and vice versa. It’s the best joining the best. I can’t wait to see what they do together.
“This journey has been the defining chapter of my career.”
Tilting Point chief corporate development officer and head of finance Saad Khan has left the publisher after seven and a half years. He has also stepped down from his role as a board member at Tilting Point-owned Budge Studios.
“When I joined in July 2017, there were just 35 people in one office in NYC with a lofty overarching mission – to change developers’ lives,” said Khan.
“I believed in the team and our ability to get it done and its been helluva ride – we grew with people and offices and studios in multiple countries, made a series of successful acquisitions, undertook large financings and got recognition as Top 10 Developer by the Pocket Gamer!”
He added: “As for what’s next – I look forward to sharing an update once I’ve settled down in my new role! Thanks again to everyone at Tilting Point, our partners and the wider gaming eco-system who made the experience so memorable, and I look forward to crossing paths again soon!”
Fingersoft COO Ville Rauma has exited the Hill Climb Racing developer after 11 years at the studio.
The exec first joined the company in 2014 as a full stack developer and product owner. He later became COO in 2016 and also briefly served as acting CEO between July to December 2019.
During his time at the company, it grew from one live game and 12 staff to several titles in its portfolio and a team of 100.
“When I started we had one live game, and 12 people,” said Rauma.
“During my time Fingersoft has created several live games, doubled annual revenue and built a full-service game studio of 100 professionals who are able to conceptualise, create, launch and maintain high quality games at a scale of millions of daily players and have done so systematically over a decade.
“That success is not coincidence or luck, rather it's a result of everyone showing up every day and making it happen.”
LEGO opens Digital Play and Games for Change gets a new chairman
LEGO Holding has created a new company called LEGO Digital Play, with the ambition to further expand into new gaming and digital experiences. It's headed up by Aaron Loeb, who takes on the role of president. He will report directly to LEGO Holding CEO Niels Christiansen.
Loeb will be based in London, with plans to expand LEGO Digital Play with new offices in the US and Europe.
Most recently working as an advisor, Loeb has more than 30 years of experience in the games industry. He previously served as chief business officer at Scopely, president at FoxNext Games and president, studios at Kabam, amongst other roles.
“LEGO bricks have been an ever-present source of play in my life,” said Loeb. “Building a new entity dedicated to providing players around the world with playful, magical LEGO experiences is probably one of the most exciting opportunities in the games industry.”
Nonprofit organisation Games for Change has appointed Xbox VP of global partnerships Leo Olebe as chair of its board of directors.
He takes over from Tilting Point chief business officer Asi Burak, who has served as chair for 10 years. Burak will remain on the board as a member.
Olebe will collaborate with G4C’s leadership and board to grow its global initiatives. Newly announced board members include founder and principal at Strategic Gaming Collective Mark Stanley, Brandible Games CEO Samir El Agili and Tencent America senior director of global video game policy Ben Golant.
“Games for Change is remarkable in its ability to drive positive change globally through collaborations with leading universities, the United Nations, NGOs, game developers, and individuals worldwide,” said Olebe.
“Susanna, Asi, and the entire team are extraordinary, and it is a great honour to join them on such a significant mission."
New leadership at Mojang and Koei Tecmo
Microsoft has appointed Kayleen Walters as the new head of Mojang Studios.
As reported by Variety, Walters will be based in Redmond, reporting to Microsoft Studios chief operations officer Helen Chiang.
She previously oversaw Minecraft's brand and entertainment and also served as VP of franchise marketing in her 13 years stint at Lucasfilm.
Elsewhere, Federico San Martin will now oversee franchise development, reporting to Walters. Amy Stillion will expand her role as chief of staff supporting both Microsoft’s game content and studios operations, as well as Mojang Studios. Stillion will also lead Mojang’s Redmond People Experience team.
“I am thrilled to share that I am taking on the role of Head of Mojang Studios, the incredible team behind Minecraft," said Walters.
“This is an amazing opportunity to lead such a talented group of individuals and continue to build on the legacy of one of the most beloved games in the world."
Japanese games company Koei Tecmo has named Hisashi Koinuma as its new CEO.
Koinuma, promoted from the role of COO, will officially start the role as representative director, president and CEO on April 1st, 2025.
He replaces Yoichi Erikawa, who will remain on as representative director and chairman of Koei Tecmo Holdings.
Meanwhile, Keiko Erikawa, who is currently serving as representative director and chairman, will move to the new position of director and chairman emeritus.
New recruits at Blizzard, Rovio, OneSignal and more
Ex-Netflix marketing director for internal games Vanessa Rouhani has been named senior director for product marketing at Blizzard Entertainment.
Recently elected IGDA Finland board member Joeli Niva has started a new position as legal counsel at Rovio.
Gabriel Oltarz has been promoted from VP of marketing to the role of chief marketing officer at games publisher Moonee.
Ex-Adjust director of integrated marketing Courtney Touchstone has joined OneSignal as principal product marketing manager.
Rizgar Baytar has departed his role as Rollic’s senior monetisation manager and has joined Miniclip as senior advertising monetisation manager.
Kwalee’s Ayşen Kıratlı has been promoted from lead growth manager to senior manager of growth at the publisher.
Movers at TapNation, Almedia, Hasbro and others
Former Popcore senior ASO manager Marina Roglic has been recruited as TapNation’s head of ASO.
Former AVOW director of sales for North America Joel Brodie has joined Almedia in the role of senior strategic partnerships.
Former Riot Games director of social Brian Shanahan has been appointed as the digital marketing director for digital games at Hasbro.
Ludos founder Nesli Deniz has joined the Turkey E-Sports Federation as a board member for the board of education.
Rovio’ game/product design lead Harshal Karvande has started a new position at the Angry Birds developer as principal game/product design. He’ll work on free-to-play game and product design at the Rovio Puzzle Studio, which houses titles including Bloom City Match and Small Town Murders.
Former ZeptoLab lead artist Pablo Calles has headed to publisher Voodoo to take on the role of game artist.
Senior hires at Kwalee, Annapurna Interactive and Savvy Games Group
After just seven months at Kwalee, Artur Grigorjan has been promoted from director of game economy to senior director of mobile games.
In his prior role he was responsible for game economy tuning and live ops strategy creation. Now, Grigorjan will lead operations across all of Kwalee’s internal games studios.
Grigorjan is the founder of 3A-Services OÜ, a mobile games software development company that celebrated its 10th anniversary last month. He has also worked as head of marketing growth at Playrix, head of growth at Playgendary and head of casual games at Murka.
Meanwhile, after little over two years at the company, Zheko Stefanov has been promoted to Kwalee’s head of mobile publishing.
His prior experience includes Snapshot Games, XS Software and nearly six years at Gameloft.
Annapurna Interactive has named former Netflix Games VP of external games Leanne Loombe as its new executive VP and head of games.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, she will oversee publishing, development, and creative efforts for the company’s game slate. She will report to Annapurna’s interactive and new media president Hector Sanchez.
Loombe’s new role comes shortly after her departure from Netflix earlier this year, amid a shakeup of the streaming firm’s games strategy. Annapurna Interactive itself has faced a significant shakeup, with all of its staff having left last year following an internal dispute.
“I’m excited to build on Annapurna’s legacy as a home for developers pushing the boundaries of storytelling," said Loombe.
Annapurna founder Megan Ellison added: “Leanne’s obvious passion for games and love of developers, paired with her experience bringing games to players all over the world, make her a perfect fit for Annapurna.
“I’m excited to welcome her to the team as we continue to grow our games business and help our developers push the boundaries of interactive entertainment.”
Former IGDA Foundation executive director Nika Nour has joined Savvy Games Group as its new SVP and head of international business development.
As we previously reported, she will be responsible for helping to establish Saudi Arabia as a global gaming hub, leading international partnerships, attracting game studios to the Kingdom, and advising on mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments.
Nour’s career spans Congressional Affairs, digital advocacy, and leadership in the games industry. She held roles as a media specialist for the US House of Representatives, served as director of communications for the Internet Association, and head of public affairs for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
She was executive director of the IGDA Foundation and recently served as head of partnerships at Genvid Entertainment, where she oversaw projects like Silent Hill: Ascension and DC Heroes United.
New recruits at Wooga, Supercell and Nordcurrent
With 14 years of experience in game development and over a decade in mobile and free-to-play design, Niek Tuerlings has been hired as a game designer by Supercell. He spent five months as a Spark participant forming new game cells under contract before being hired as a full-time member of the Supercell team.
Tuerlings has teased that his new role with see him develop "Supercell’s next unicorn", sharing on LinkedIn: "Our amazing little team got greenlit! Hired as game designer at Supercell. Humbled and very excited!"
His prior games industry experience has seen Tuerlings work with Moonlit Games, Voodoo, Wooga and others.
Casual games developer and publisher Nordcurrent has appointed Ada Mockutė Jaime as its new chief marketing officer.
Mockutė has over a decade of experience in brand development, digital marketing, and customer intelligence. She was previously head of marketing and customer value management at Luminor Group. She also held leadership roles at Citadele Bank, Zuper GmbH, and Avia Solutions Group.
At Nordcurrent, she will oversee global brand identity, enhance player engagement, and drive marketing strategies, focusing on key markets like Asia, the US, and Europe.
June's Journey developer Wooga has appointed Dennis Korf as its new MD. He was previously the GM at another Playtika-owned studio, Youda Games. Prior to that, he worked at Azerion.
As reported by Gamesmarkt, he replaces Nai Chang in the top job.
New Pocket Worlds hires
After building a YouTube channel with over 350,000 subscribers, Drew Kenady – AKA Nintendrew – has been hired as senior software engineer II at Pocket Worlds. Game development formed the foundation of his career as a YouTuber and he has also released his own indie game C.A.R.L.
Meanwhile, former Misfits Gaming production lead Jude Moore has departed from the company, now also joining Pocket Worlds. Bringing 18 years of experience, his new role is senior producer for live operations.
Moore was also previously employed by EA, where he worked as development director on live ops and release management for The Sims series. He was also lead producer on the Tony Hawk franchise at Activision.
Digital Bandidos broadens its management team
Digital Bandidos has hired three key additions to its management team: Richard Iwaniuk, Richard Iggo and James Batchelor.
Iwaniuk brings 24 years of games industry experience to his new role of CFO, having previously led finance and business development at EA, BioWare and Intel.
Iggo has 25 years of industry experience, having contributed to the success of more than 100 games across PC, console and mobile.
Batchelor has 18 years’ experience in games industry journalism, most recently working as editor-in-chief at GamesIndustry.biz.
Movers at MobileAction, nDreams and Rovio
Rovio's Timo Rahkonen has been promoted to the role of VP strategy and corporate development.
Aysu Ayık has been promoted to the role of senior product marketing manager at app analytics outfit MobileAction.
David Burroughs has joined virtual reality specialist nDreams as senior marketing manager, having previously held a contract position as senior brand manager. Prior to nDreams, his previous credits include Creative Assembly and Ubisoft.
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