October 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Unity's latest leadership shift, new Kokku execs, InnoGames names CEO, 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.

Arriving at Aristocrat and Bit Odd’s new CTO

2K veteran Amy White has joined Australian casino firm and games publisher Aristocrat as VP of communications, EMEA.

She has made the move from her latest position at Twitch, where she led global game initiatives and international communications. Her experience also includes work in senior roles at 2K, Square Enix, Sega and Meta’s Reality Labs.

At Aristocrat, White will lead both internal and external communications across EMEA, supporting the company’s business strategies and games division Product Madness.

After six months at Bit Odd, Antti Stén has been formally appointed as CTO.

He began working as a game programmer at the studio this April, bringing experience as a Second Leap co-founder, Stenumedia owner and Boomlagoon founder. Stén has also served as Wargaming general manager in Helsinki and Rovio’s lead server architect.

"Funny thing - due to some obvious reasons and choices, this is my very first promotion in this nearly 22-years-long career. It’s all about the game and gamble, career is a side product," he posted on LinkedIn.

Leadership level-ups at Kokku and Unity

Latin American co-development studio Kokku has appointed Carol Lara as chief operating officer after 1.5 years leading its production department.

Lara’s promotion makes her the first woman in Kokku’s executive team at C-level, with responsibilities now extending to all operational departments. This means Lara will oversee production, engineering, art and creative, operations, and QA.

"It makes me look back with gratitude and forward with responsibility. I think a lot about the women building their careers in this industry who sometimes still wonder if there’s room for them," she said.

"What I hope is that my presence here can be one more proof that the answer is yes, and that this space must be claimed with competence, courage, and purpose."

Chris Feo has joined Unity’s leadership team as its new SVP of sales and partnerships, set to lead the company’s programmatic business globally.

Feo’s move to Unity follows over a decade at Tapad and nearly five years at Experion after Tapad’s acquisition. He also currently serves as a board member at Agnitio and an advisor at Kickly and TVision.

"Having spent the last decade at the intersection of identity and audience, I see so many similarities in the gaming sector akin to that of CTV and Commerce Media in its early days," Feo posted on LinkedIn.

"As for what's next, if you’re a former client, partner, or friend - don’t hesitate to reach out to see if there are ways we can collaborate."

Products and production at Scopely and Rotatelab

Yumi Cheung has been hired to Scopely as senior producer, bringing her experience as Warner Bros. Games’ senior technical producer to the role.

Cheung also has over a decade of experience in leading global launches across edtech, healthcare and games. Her expertise includes cross-functional team leadership, live service operations, and triple-A games on PC, console and mobile.

"My time at Warner Bros. Discovery shaped me in so many ways. Thank you to all the mentors and amazing colleagues who made that journey unforgettable. I’ll always be grateful for the lessons, laughter and friendships along the way," Cheung posted on LinkedIn.

"Now onto this next adventure at Scopely. I can’t wait to build, learn and create joyful experiences together."

Ahmetcan Demirel has joined Rotatelab as CPO, looking to build the studio into a "puzzle powerhouse".

He began working in games in 2020, starting as a product specialist at Bigger Games, and has since gained experience at Udo Games, Falco and FRVR. Demirel is also a product and game design consultant, which led to him working with Rotatelab.

"What began as advisory work quickly felt like home. The team is small, focused and consistently surprising in the best ways. Week after week, the craft and velocity raised the bar. It didn’t take long for both sides to realise we wanted to take things to the next phase," he posted on LinkedIn.

Hires, promotions and departures

Former Xsolla president David Stelzer has been named chief strategy officer at Appcharge, bringing more than 20 years of experience in digital entertainment, esports and games tech.

Steer VP of mobile Peeyush Gulati has stepped down from the role after three years. He’s taking time to recharge before moving on to the next opportunity.

Mirza Hasanzade has joined Rovio Entertainment as a senior creator manager, bringing more than a decade’s experience in leading high-impact marketing campaigns.

In further leadership changes at Kokku, João Marcelo Moraes has joined as chief financial officer. He has taken over from Gerson Lima, now CFO of OV Entertainment.

Benjamin Tershana has returned to StreamElements after three years away, reclaiming his title as VP performance partnerships.

2K Games has appointed Ben Brinkman as studio head for 31st Union, overseeing development of the free-to-play hero shooter Project Ethos.

Mac Byczynski has joined AppLifters as head of business development and investments after three years at BoomBit.

Simon Hope is Softgames’ new talent partner, set to support the studio’s scaling up through the remainder of 2025 - including critical hires in design, production, art and coding.

Andrew Stalbow is now an enterprise ambassador at the University of Leeds.

Content creator Jerreau H has joined Laced as community manager.

Snap Inc has recruited Ryan Jones as its new head of global product communications.

Rising the ranks and returning faces at InnoGames and Scopely

Christian Reshöft has been appointed as CEO of InnoGames after 12 years at the company, taking the reins from Hendrik Klindworth.

Reshöft has spent over a decade working within the games-as-a-service model with industry experience from Blizzard Entertainment, Jagex, Miniclip and more. His past five years at InnoGames have been spent as chief product officer.

"Following in Hendrik's footsteps is a task I approach with great respect, but also with enormous motivation," said Reshöft.

"We will continue on our successful course by focusing on profitable, organic growth and further expanding our core competencies. A combination of continuity and fresh impetus will determine our future path."

Returning to Scopely after three years, Leanne Tran has taken on the role of senior product marketing manager for Monopoly Go.

Prior to her departure, Tran worked as senior brand manager at Scopely. She left in 2022 to join Meta.

"It’s a full-circle moment to rejoin such a passionate, innovative group of people - from longtime colleagues to new teammates," she posted on LinkedIn.

New appointments at PlaySuper and BAFTA

After nearly five years at Mobile Premier League, Shubham Sharma has joined PlaySuper as vice president of strategic partnerships.

During his tenure at Mobile Premier League, Sharma helped build and scale partnerships, launched games and drove strategic growth.

He also brings prior experience from Kotak Mahindra Bank, Paytm and Razorpay.

Google director of EMEA game partnerships Tony Clark has been appointed to BAFTA’s Games Committee for the next two years.

He will work alongside Co-Collaborate founder and Larian studio head Tara Saunders, who continues as chair of the Games Committee. Altered Gene founder Des Gayle is deputy chair.

Updates to the Games Committee have coincided with elections at BAFTA’s Film Committee and Television Committee, chaired by Emily Stillman and Hilary Rosen respectively.

Latest ventures at Bikraft and Offroad Games

Danielle Tran has joined Bitkraft Ventures as its newest principal, where she will focus on the consumer side with an interest in hardware, toys, digital companions and fandom.

Her gaming journey began with Pokémon Yellow, while professionally she has worked with Rare Candy, Women in Games and Konvoy.

During her 4.5 years at the latter, she was part of the investment team during Fund II and Fund III.

As his time at Supercell and Space Ape Games comes to an end, Hong Nguyen is starting a new chapter as COO of Offroad Games.

His focus will be on strengthening day-to-day operations and helping chart the company in ambitious new directions.

"There’s a spirit of adventure here that feels like home for me, a willingness to take smart risks, challenge convention, and create the kind of experiences that only comes from going off the beaten path," he posted on LinkedIn.

Promotions and appointments

ELO has appointed video games industry economist Joost van Dreunen as its new strategic advisor.

Alan Yeats has been promoted to Pocket Sized Hands CEO after more than eight years as CTO.

Hutch’s former co-founder and CFO Peter Hansen-Chambers has stepped down from the role after 11 years with the company.

Steer Studios has hired Jongin Park as its new product manager.

Douglas Kennedy has been promoted to executive at UGC platform Hytopia.

Jakob Braunisch has joined Tapugo as head of games, bringing mobile experience from Voodoo, King and more.

Scopely has appointed Bruno Patatas as senior director of product. He has been with the company since 2022 and was previously at Kolibri Games.

Major promotions: Nintendo of America lands new president and CEO

Devon Pritchard is poised to become Nintendo of America’s first female president when Doug Bowser retires at the end of the year.

Over her 19 years with the company to date, Pritchard currently serves as VP of revenue and has previously held the role of executive VP of business affairs and publisher relations. Her mission as president will be to grow Nintendo’s user base whilst continuing to reach legacy fans.

"I am humbled and excited to take on this new role. Doug has been a fantastic mentor, and I look forward to building on the incredible foundation he has helped establish," she said.

Meanwhile, Satoru Shibata has become Nintendo of America’s new CEO, the first since Satoru Iwata’s passing, forming a closer tie to the company’s Japanese hub.

Shibata will continue to work as Nintendo’s managing executive officer and corporate director in Japan after taking on the US position.

This isn’t his first role outside of Japan, either. Between 2000 and 2018, Shibata served as Nintendo of Europe’s president and has also spent a spell as Nintendo of Australia’s managing director.

High-ranking roles at Supercell and ZBD

Former King GM Sabrina Carmona has joined Supercell as the new general manager for Clash of Clans, bringing 15 years of industry experience to the role.

Nine of those years were spent at King overseeing major titles like Candy Crush Friends, Heroes Saga and Jelly Saga. Earlier in her career, Carmona worked at Goodgame Studios, Behaviour Interactive and Square Enix Latin America.

"Thrilled to share that I’ve taken on the role of general manager for Clash of Clans at Supercell," she posted on LinkedIn. "Looking forward to working with the amazing team to continue building the future of one of the most iconic games in the world."

ZBD has appointed Nicole Diaz as senior vice president of product, bringing to the role 19 years of product leadership experience across fintech, enterprise software and startups.

She will lead strategy and development for ZBD’s global payments products with a focus on multi-currency solutions that support in-game experiences. She will also aim to drive immersive product development for partners.

"I’m thrilled to be joining ZBD as they continue to redefine how payments and rewards fit seamlessly into digital experiences," said Diaz.

"I’m excited to work with the team as we continue growing our payments products to help partners deliver better value and overall experiences for players."

Changing the game at Roblox

After more than nine years at Roblox, VP of engineering Claus Moberg has stepped down with no current plans for his next professional endeavour.

He first joined Roblox as an engineering director and in the years since, has been involved in a rewrite of the platform’s entire front-end codebase, worked with Tencent to build Roblox’s Chinese presence, launched on PlayStation, and more.

And, during Moberg’s time at the company, Roblox’s peak concurrent user count has grown 10 times over - from approximately 450,000 to over 45 million.

Also at Roblox, Vlad Loktev has been appointed as chief creator ecosystem officer of its Creator division, set to lead developer relations and platform events.

Loktev brings 10 years of experience in product-centred roles at Airbnb and also spent one year as Zynga’s senior product manager. He has spent the past two years as an Index Ventures partner.

Responsibilities at Roblox now include building an integrated suite of development tools, leading the Innovation Studio and supporting creators large and small.

Movements at MTG and its studios

Plarium CEO Schraga Mor has decided to step down as the company transitions into Modern Time Group’s new Midcore District.

InnoGames co-founder and CEO Hendrik Klindworth is to become executive chairman of this Midcore District.

MTG chief product officer Oliver Bulloss will take up the role of its Midcore District CEO.

After 12 years in leadership positions at Hutch, Andy Watson has been promoted to CEO.

Playtika and Crazy Labs veteran Yoav Ecker has been appointed as CEO of PlaySimple. Meanwhile, company co-founder and CEO Siddharth Jain has become chairman of the board.

Hires and promotions across the industry

Former Light & Wonder exec Dylan Slaney has joined Aristocrat as Interactive CEO, after Moti Malul stepped down from the role.

Sunday has appointed Amirali Afshar as head of business ops and Sarthak Joshi as M&A manager.

Bagelcode has promoted Jeremy Kang to VP of product, after joining as director of product earlier this year.

Activision has a new associate director of product, gameplay in Tony Suen.

Jacki Vause is now officially a Women in Games Ambassador, after weighing in on numerous topics as a PocketGamer.biz Mobile Maven.

Leanne Bayley has joined Innovecs Games as head of 2D art UI and UX. Chris Rowe has joined as business development director.

Bidstack has unveiled its advisory team, which has been growing for the past 18 months. Members include Jerome Underhill, Jonathan Bunney, Julian Tan, Jarod Were, Andre Johnson and David McDowell.

Stephen Hey has been promoted to head of publishing and partnerships at Radical Forge.

Kickstarter’s Creative Advisory Council has appointed a new member in Thomas Bidaux.

Deniz Kirca has started a new role as head of marketing in TikTok’s product marketing team.

Patty Toledo has been promoted from board member to chairperson at Breda Game City.

Pontus Maehler is now a board member at Turborilla.