September 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Roblox's head of agency partnerships, Women in Games' new community manager, and Epic Games hires Supercell veteran

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.

Roblox and Women in Games snap up talent

With 15 years’ experience under his belt, Mike Schoelch has joined Roblox as head of agency partnerships within its Global Brand Partnerships and Advertising division.

The move to Roblox has meant leaving behind a similar title at Unity, where he served as head of agency and brand partnerships, and established the company’s brand and agency partnerships division.

Next, he will lead agency development efforts, bolster relationships between Roblox and its partners, and help "shape the future of immersive engagement".

Gemma Bowen has joined Women in Games as community manager, where she will work as a freelancer following three years at Thunderful Group.

Bowen walked her first steps in the games industry in 2022 as a community and social manager, but was ultimately let go from the role during the latest round of layoffs. She was uncertain if she would stay in the industry but has been quickly snapped up by Women in Games just one month later.

"I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Community Manager at Women in Games!" Bowen posted on LinkedIn.

Chief appointments at DTC platforms

Nadav Hollander and Paul Bowen have joined direct-to-consumer platform Appcharge as changing legislation has strengthened rapid growth at the company.

Hollander has joined as chief financial officer and Bowen as chief revenue officer, set to bolster Appcharge’s financial infrastructure and strive towards making Appcharge the leading DTC platform for mobile respectively.

"Nadav and Paul are both proven executives in the mobile games space, and each has demonstrated his strength in bringing companies into the future to fulfil their potential," Appcharge CEO and co-founder Maor Sason said of the hires.

Fellow DTC platform Stash has hired Henry Lowenfels as CEO, bringing experience from almost eight years at Scopely. He has also led DTC efforts at Homa.

Though appointing a CEO and more senior talent, Stash’s founders will remain at the company.

"It's not that there's an intentional move in this moment to shake up leadership or do something very different. It's really opportunistic, it's really understanding that this is a massive opportunity in this moment and to bring incredible talent with relevant experience together to attack that opportunity," Lowenfels told us.

Leading mobile development at Epic Games and Blizzard

Fortnite maker Epic Games has hired Supercell veteran Laura Gilliland to lead product on mobile.

Bringing experience from Supercell, The Walt Disney Company, Neon and more, Gilliland’s roles have ranged from senior analyst to game lead to head of product. Now at Epic, her job title is director of product management.

"Thrilled to share that I've joined Epic Games to lead product for mobile. I'm looking forward to working with this incredible team and helping shape the next chapter of Epic's journey," Gilliland posted on LinkedIn.

Overwatch general manager Walter Kong has been appointed Blizzard’s new SVP and head of live games and mobile development.

After almost four years as Overwatch general manager and previously executive producer, he will continue to oversee the game’s strategy whilst also taking over leadership of Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal and Warcraft Rumble.

"I am greatly looking forward to working with these talented teams across a wide range of initiatives, existing and new," said Kong.

Metacore and Microsoft’s high-up hires

Bringing experience from across commercial sectors, Mike Nicodemus has been hired as Metacore’s new head of people and culture. His mission is to scale people practices while nurturing company culture across locales, bringing Metacore’s people and talent acquisition functions closer together.

Based in Berlin, Nicodemus brings prior experience from organisations like Starbucks, Nike, Vinted and SumUp. His appointment reflects Metacore’s commitment to its Berlin hub, as the Merge Mansion maker looks to enable relocation opportunities for talent.

"What drew me to Metacore was how intentionally culture is treated as a business enabler, not as buzz words," said Nicodemus.

"The focus on psychological safety, wellbeing and transparency is rare. I look forward to scaling our people practices globally, while also strengthening the Berlin office as a key talent hub. I’m eager to learn the mobile game industry and work with Metacore’s creative teams to help unleash their potential."

Games veteran Louise O'Connor has joined Microsoft as Xbox Game Studios’ chief of staff, moving on from Rare after 25 years.

Her journey at Rare began as an animator in 1999, when O'Connor started work in the middle of Conker’s Bad Fur Day. By 2009 she had risen to head of animation, and continued rising higher until her appointment as executive producer in 2017. O'Connor had an eight-year run in this position.

Now at Xbox, she will support "some of the most iconic gaming studios, leaders and teams in the world" and focus on fostering connection and collaboration across Xbox Game Studios.

Krafton and Lightspeed's key new recruits

Krafton India has hired Huzaifa Arab as studio head as the company is busy expanding its presence and workforce in the country.

Arab brings experience from Kreeda Games India, Hypernova Interactive and most recently MHXP. He has held game designer roles, was Hypernova’s CTO, and was director of product engineering during his year at MHXP.

"Some roles are jobs. Others are missions. Thrilled to share that I’ve joined Krafton India as studio head, as part of its India Game Development team," he posted on LinkedIn.

Chinese developer Lightspeed Studios has hired multiple Capcom veterans to its new office in Osaka, Japan, including Bingo Morihashi and Daigo Ikeno.

The pair have both served on the Devil May Cry series and bring over 50 years of combined experience to Lightspeed. Ikeno’s illustrations and character designs have also been featured in various Street Fighter titles.

At Lightspeed Japan, Morihashi is narrative lead and Ikeno is art director. They are working under fellow Capcom veteran Hideaki Itsuno, who has led Lightspeed Japan since its Tokyo studio opened last year.

Latest developments at Sensemitter and Epic Games

After stepping back into the world of AI this January, Isabel Ferreira has teamed up with Sensemitter to measure emotional engagement in playtesting.

Ferreira brings experience in mobile UA and has worked at companies like Supersonic, Phunware, Appsumer and Adjust. She also has experience at AI companies Replai and Alison.ai, having served in directorial business development roles at each.

"Gaming has always been my passion and although I’ve taken a break from mobile UA, I’m thrilled to announce I’ve joined forces with Katie Madding at Sensemitter to finally measure what actually matters in playtesting, emotional engagement," Ferreira posted on LinkedIn.

"It’s my first time working with an inspiring female CEO and honestly, it already feels like two twin mums taking on the world. Thanks for the opportunity, Katie, I know we’re going to do great things together."

Alexander Rehm has taken on the role of product director, live ops at Epic Games, where he will be involved in roadmap development as he looks to drive engagement and monetisation initiatives.

Defining product strategy will also form a part of this role, with Rehm bringing his latest live ops experience at People Can Gly Studio to the table.

"I am beyond excited to announce that I have joined Epic Games today," he posted on LinkedIn.

"I love working in games-as-a-service and games-as-a-platform, and I love the work Epic have been doing across the board on that front."

New hires at Tamatem Games, Wizards of the Coast and more

After two years running his own video games agency, Dylan Lavis has joined Australian studio Paragon Interactive. The team’s main focus is PC and console, but also has experience with VR and mobile games.

Sohaib Thiab has joined Tamatem Games as chief product officer, bringing his perspective on product leadership from outside the games industry at companies like Foodics and Eneco.

Wizards of the Coast has hired games industry veteran Michael de Plater as studio head and game director, where he will leverage his experience from EA, Warner Bros Games, Ubisoft and more.

k-ID has hired Erik Bryant as its new senior account manager after 2.5 years as an investor at Libation Labs.

Courtney Touchstone brings more than 15 years of experience to her new position at Stash, where she now serves as head of marketing.

Promotions and shift-ups across Anzu, Embracer, Moon Active and others

Noah Edelman is a new contractor at Anzu, working as a business development advisor.

Now that Moonrock has acquired growth agency Umbr, its former CEO Scott Nellessen has been officially welcomed as Moonrock VP of growth marketing.

Embracer Group has appointed a new board of directors for the Coffee Stain Group, including Jacob Jonmyren as chair, Anton Westbergh as CEO, Sara Börsvik, Henrik Tjärnström, Kicki Wallje-Lund and Embracer co-founder Lars Wingefors.

Jamie Stowe has been promoted to head of design at Hutch during his second year with the company, after joining as creative director in 2024.

Shay Sobel has been appointed as VP of corporate development at Moon Active, marking his third role in six years at the Israeli company.