Ins and Outs – October 2019’s industry hires roundup

Here are the highlights from the recent industry hires and moves, as published in MCV’s October issue.

Koch Media has made a couple of new appointments. Anthony Moss has joined as UK sales executive, bringing with him a wealth of product and retail sales experience having worked as a store manager at the likes of Electronics Boutique, GAME and Gamestation.

Richard Mackey also joined as trade marketing executive, having previously worked for Gorenje.

Former BioWare writer David Gaider has teamed up with former Beamdog developer Liam Esler to co-found indie dev Summerfall Studios. Gaider – who had a prolific writing career for BioWare on franchises such as

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age for more than 17 years – joined Beamdog in February 2016 after departing BioWare in late January that same year.

Esler also worked at Beamdog between 2013 and 2016 and will serve the new studio as MD.

EA’s EU corporate comms has a new boss, with industry veteran Cat Channon having recently taken on the role of director of European corporate communications, based at EA’s Geneva office. The UK industry will know Channon from her stints at Vivendi, Take-Two, NCSoft, and Warner Bros. Most recently she was running her own agency, The Treks.

Speaking to MCV, Channon said: “EA is a particularly player-focused and progressive organisation, so I am thrilled to be joining the company at this time. I look forward to engaging with our partners, media and trade bodies along with the highly talented internal teams.”

Reggie Fils-Aimé, former Nintendo of America president, has joined the New York Video Game Critics Circle (NYVGCC)​ board of directors. In a press release, the NYVGCC​ said Fils-Aimé’s new role will help its mission to run “mentoring and scholarships in underserved communities.”

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has appointed Gina Vetere  as its new senior vice president, general counsel.

ESA’s CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis commented: “Gina is recognised as a leader in law and policy. We are proud to have one of the brightest legal minds join us. Her wealth of knowledge and diversity of experience will enhance the services and value we provide.”

Former VP of communications at the ESA, Dan Hewitt, has joined Gearbox in the newly created role of chief communications officer. Hewitt had been at the ESA for over 12 years.

Gearbox’s founder Randy Pitchford commented: “Dan is known and praised across the video game industry for his strategic counsel, industry knowledge, and ability to work with media and stakeholders. We are delighted to have Dan join us to help shape and share our story.”

Bandai Namco’s PR assistant Shehryar Sheikh has left the firm to join Square Enix as public relations executive. Sheikh spent a year and a half at Bandai Namco, having previous experiences at Indigo Pearl.

After almost two years at Network N, commercial editor Ben Tyrer has departed the company to become GamesRadar’s news editor. Tyrer already worked at Future from 2014 to 2018, first as digital production assistant before becoming staff writer and then games editor at PlayStation Magazine.

People Can Fly has appointed Mateusz Kirstein as its new chief marketing officer and head of people of the company’s Rzeszow studio. Kirstein is described as “a top-level, business-oriented creative professional with 20+ years of diverse experience in the media, marketing, and film production.”

Capcom Europe has hired a new senior PR manager to handle Capcom’s EMEA and UK PR and communications, as Claas Wolter  joins the team in London, transferring from Capcom Entertainment Germany, where he handled the company’s central European PR activities as PR manager. He will be reporting to Antoine Molant, marketing director EMEA and UK.

George Kelion is now head of PR at CCP Games, having previously held the role of senior communications manager from 2018, after joining the company in 2016. Reporting to the VP of marketing, Kelion will drive the internal/external communications efforts for CCP’s activities across multiple channels, to support and further CCP’s organisational and commercial objectives.

MCV has a new staff writer, following the departure of senior staff writer Marie Dealessandri, who joined the GamesIndustry.biz team in October. Chris Wallace joined from Continuum Economics where he had been subeditor for the past year. A former MCV intern, he graduated forom Cardiff University in 2018 and has had bylines as a freelancer in the likes of Rock Paper Shotgun and VG247. MCV’s editor Seth Barton commented: “Chris impressed us when he interned with MCV and we’ve kept him waiting far too long before offering him a role. Please make him feel welcome by bombarding him with all the press releases”