Zattikka - Dave Mutton, Joel Breton
Zattikka announced this week that Dave Mutton has been named VP of Sales and Marketing. He will help develop new marketing campaigns, including viral, SEO and SEM strategies, for Zattikka’s flash gaming sites and iPhone, Blackberry and Android games.
“It’s a fantastic coup for us to get Dave onboard,” said Zattikka Ltd Founder & CEO, Tim Chaney. “Dave’s experience in the online world speaks for itself and is yet another high profile signing for the Zattikka dream team. He’ll be a key part of the driving force behind the continued growth of Zattikka’s casual gaming portfolio and social networking strategies, as well as helping to significantly boost traffic to our portfolio of online portals such as Gimme5Games and Badhed.”
Mutton is an industry veteran with fifteen years in the technology and new media sector. He was Marketing Director for European Talent Management business StepStone before founding Internet consultancy Third Aspect Limited. Mutton was previously Head of Commerce for Yahoo! Europe, realigning the strategic direction of Yahoo's shopping and travel interests, and he played an instrumental role in the successful launch of Amazon.co.uk while at the company.
“I’m delighted to be working with Dave again,” added Mark Opzoomer, President of Zattika Ltd. “He is a great team player and consistently delivers results in online marketing.”
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining a company with as much drive and ambition in the online space as Zattikka,” commented Mutton. “These guys are at the cutting edge between online gaming and social networking and as a gamer myself, I’m excited to be taking on such an integral role in this hugely important area of growth for the games industry.”
Zattikka also announced that it has hired Joel Breton. He will be EVP of North American Operations, where he will find and commission web-based IP, select U.S. based targets for acquisition, and build revenue in the burgeoning app sector of the gaming industry.
“The U.S. is a huge market with unequalled importance in terms of social, browser and mobile gaming. In line with our aspirations and strategy for rapid growth, hiring Joel gives us access to his wealth of product and industry knowledge, and kick-starts our presence in this vital territory” said Chaney. “I am delighted that we have been able to attract a candidate of Joel’s calibre to join our ever-expanding dream team.”
Breton is a game industry veteran who has produced top-selling video games across twenty console platforms and created more than one hundred online games that have been played billions of times across the web. He started his game development career at Sega of America in 1994 where he worked on many of Sega’s classic games, including Sonic and Knuckles, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racer, Panzer Dragoon, and World Series Baseball. After becoming a game producer in 1997, Breton worked for companies like GT Interactive, Bethesda Softworks, Take-Two Interactive and Hudson Entertainment on titles that included Duke Nukem, Unreal, Pirates of the Caribbean and Bomberman Live. In 2007, Breton joined MTV Networks as Director of Content for AddictingGames.com, where he helped grow the site into the number one game site in the U.S. in terms of unique monthly visitors.
“It’s an exciting moment in the game industry and it is an excellent time to join the all-star team at Zattikka to address the growing social and online markets,” commented Breton. “The games industry is experiencing a surge toward online, social and mobile gaming, and I am thrilled to work with the experienced team at Zattikka to create and publish hit games for these exciting platforms.”
ISM - Nicolas di Costanzo
ISM announced recently that they hired Nicolas di Costanzo. He joins the team of industry veterans for the agency representing independent game developers.
“Nicolas di Costanzo’s knowledge of the Japanese and Asian markets, together with his physical presence in Tokyo and his strong network of industry connections makes him a priceless asset,” said Francois Masciopinto, Senior Partner of ISM. “He will be a focal point for Asia-Pacific developers seeking our expertise to break out into the western world, and will be a conduit for our western clients seeking to penetrate the Japanese market.”
di Costanzo has 18 years in the interactive industry. He worked as representative of Edge, where he developed and extended his knowledge of the local markets and its prominent players. di Costanzo was GM of EA Japan Online, Managing Director at Vivendi Games Japan and COO of Atari’s local subsidiary, helping release 100 titles in Japan, and developing extensive experience in contract negotiations with local industry operators.
“I am thrilled to be part of the ISM team,” said di Costanzo. “I strongly believe that much can be done to enhance communications and leverage opportunities worldwide in video game development and publishing. This is an exciting opportunity that has the potential to benefit publishers, developers and consumers.”
IGDA - Gordon Bellamy
IGDA secretary Brian Robbins recently announced on the official blog that Yu+Co Emerging Media senior producer Gordon Bellamy will be acting executive director. He may replace departing IGDA executive director Joshua Caulfield in the long term.
"In the past year I have seen first hand the amount of passion, energy and dedication that Gordon brings to his work with the IGDA, and as acting executive director I am confident that he will help lead us through the changes we as an organization have to make to better serve our members, and the industry as a whole,” writes Robbins.
Bellamy has worked with MTV Networks, EA, THQ and Z-AXIS, and served as Executive Director for AIAS. Yu+Co is a production and design services firm for the entertainment industry. Bellamny was appointed chairman of the IGDA's board in March.
"This broad base of experience means Gordon has a solid understanding of many different facets of the industry from publishing, to development to broader industry awareness," notes Robbins.
Seven45 Studios - Chris Gilbert
Recently, Seven45 Studios announced that it hired Chris Gilbert. He will be Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing and will head up retail sales and marketing for all of Seven45’s games.
“Chris’ wealth of experience brings with it an intimate understanding of the video game space and we look forward to adding his talents to our already strong executive team,” said Seven45 Studios Chairman and CEO, Bernard Chiu. “He is a video gaming industry veteran, having served as Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Operations at Sega of America for over five years, and is uniquely qualified to launch all of the ambitious games we have planned.”
Formerly of Sega of America, Gilbert recently held the position of CEO and President for Adscape Media Inc., an in-game advertising company. He has also held the position of General Manager for HIP Interactive’s U.S. division.
Microsoft – Matt Booty
Microsoft announced this past week that former Midway Games CEO Matt Booty will lead the company's mobile gaming initiative. Check out the full story here.
Cryptic Studios – Bill Roper
Bill Roper announced last week that he's resigning from his position as chief creative officer at MMO studio Cryptic. Read more here.
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