Ins and Outs – February’s industry hires roundup

Former community and communications officer at Ukie Sophie Densham has joined Edelman as senior account executive for Xbox EMEA.

PlayStation UK has a new marketing director, as Mark Bowles re-joined the firm where he spent seven years before moving to the BBC in 2013. He’s replacing Rich Keen, who left the firm in October last year.

Former PlayStation UK’s marketeer Rosemary Buahin has moved to Curve Digital as marketing director. MD Jason Perkins said: “Rose is a heavyweight hire and a sign of our continued aspirations to evolve into a global player.”

Rockstar’s engine programmer Timea
Tabori has been appointed lead ambassador and national coordinator for Women in Games (WIGJ) in Scotland, kicking off the organisation’s regional policy to represent women in their regions.

Fnatic has announced the appointment of Nick Fry as its head of commercial strategy. He said: “As it stands, Fnatic is widely recognised among the biggest brand holders in sports, music and entertainment, and my role is to not only strengthen that position but also build on it.”

Gamer Network’s Tom Orry has been promoted to managing editor of USgamer.net. He said: “Over the past 12 months, USgamer has seen tremendous growth, with page views up 150 per cent year-on-year. I’ll be working with editor in chief Kat Bailey to identify traffic opportunities and continue to improve all areas of editorial on the site.”

ESL UK has announced that esports journalist, commentator and TV host Heather ‘Naysayerz’ Dower will be joining the team as the company’s marketing and communications manager.

Alex Peters, formerly of Activision, DICE and EA, has joined Sega Europe as VP of production and development services.

Jagex strengthened its marketing team with three senior hires. Former head of global publishing at NaturalMotion Ben Clarke has joined as senior marketing director, Steven Tarry, former senior UA manager at Zynga, joined to head the user acquisition team and Multiplay’s creative, and content manager Steve ‘Shed’ Wilson is Jagex’s new head of video and live production.

Journalist Ryan Brown has joined Rubber Road as PR and comms manager for Numskull Designs and Yellow Bulldog. He said: “My main roles include running our social media accounts and building relationships with press, influencers, and our brand license holders. Now I get to surround myself with merchandise and video game toys and call it work!” Brown will still be freelancing for The Mirror website and paper, among others.

Former recruitment operations manager at Amiqus Meg Daintith has joined Codemasters as recruitment manager.

Gamestop has appointed Mike Mauler as its new CEO. He’s been at the firm for 16 years, most recently as EVP and president of international.

VideoGamer’s deputy editor David Scammell is now working with Toadman Interactive as the new community manager for Immortal: Unchained. He said: “2018 looks set to be a big year for the studio, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share a part of it with them.” He will also continue to work with industry veteran Chris Glover on consultancy and PR projects.

Square Enix’s Just Cause community manager Neil Gorton has moved to Bethesda as UK community manager.

Comms manager at nDreams Dan Sheridan has created his own firm, Sherimedia. He said: “I am incredibly excited to be following my own dream. I’ll be providing community management, social media, and influencer marketing expertise. I see an opportunity to help developers and publishers build or engage existing communities.”

PCGamesN’s Kirk McKeand has left the publication to go freelance. He said: “I’m very excited to work with the talented folks at Eurogamer on a freelance retainer, as well as writing for some of my other old outlets, including The Telegraph, GamesMaster, Trusted Reviews, OPM, OXM, and others.”