Paul Bertone joins 343 Industries as technical design director | Jobs Roundup: July 2022

It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we compile them in semi-regular round-ups.

If you have new appointments or transitions in your company that belong here, please send the names of the appointees, new role and company, and prior role and company to [email protected].

Paul Bertone | Technical design director, 343 Industries

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Paul Bertone

Former Bungie design director Paul Bertone has joined 343 Industries as technical design director to work with the developer on Halo Infinite.

Bertone has had a nearly 20 year career in the video games industry, having spent 11 with the Halo maker Bungie.

Prior to his current role, he’s worked in lead design roles at various companies such as Probably Monsters, Undead Labs, and Industrial Toys.

Bertone’s new position was announced on Twitter by Joseph Staten, head of creative for Halo Infinite.

“Paul and I met in 1999, back in Bungie’s Chicago days, and then shipped Halo 1-3, ODST and Reach together,” Staten said.

“I’m thrilled to have Paul help lead the future of [Halo Infinite].”

Lucy O’Brien | Director of editorial communications, Ubisoft

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Lucy O’Brien

Former IGN executive editor of features, Lucy O’ Brien joins Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft as director of editorial communications.

Before this new role with the gaming firm she was worked at IGN for a decade. Throughout her career she’s worked at various editorial roles such as editor-in-chief of Future Publishing’s Australian PlayStation magazine, PSM3.

“Stoked to finally, finally announce I’ve joined the incredible team at [Ubisoft] as director of editorial communications,” O’Brien said in her announcement on Twitter.

“The internal editorial team is stupidly talented and it’s an honor to jump aboard the ship!”

Rob Crossley | Vice president of publishing, Playstack

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Rob Crossley

Rob Crossley has been promoted to vice president of publishing at game publisher Playstack, he originally joined on in 2015 as head of discovery.

He brings with him a career in which he’s worked in video game publishing and media coverage.

Prior to working at Playstack he was head of games and digital at Creative England. He formally announced his new promotion in a LinkedIn post.

Don’t usually indulge in making a song and dance about promotions but this one is a major step for me and I’m very proud of the journey to get here,” he said

I’m now VP of Publishing at Playstack. I’ll be leading the PC & Console team through our next phase of evolution and success. It’s an incredibly exciting time…

Jon Rooke | Vice president of marketing, Thunderful

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Jon Rooke

Games publisher Thunderful has announced that Jon Rooke has joined on as the company’s vice president of marketing.

Rooke brings with him over a career of over 25 years in video games and prior to this position he was senior director of international marketing and communications at 2k Games.

He’s worked in a variety of roles at gaming firms such as Microsoft, Sega, and Creative Assembly.

“Jon’s incredible experience and background of working for some of the biggest players in the games industry is going be an invaluable resource to Thunderful and we are excited to have him join our growing team as Vice President of Marketing,” said Thunderful chief games officer Agostino Simonetta.

“Jon will complement the fantastic team we already have here working to grow our successful games business.”

Michael Lenz | Chief Analytics Officer, InnoGames

Michael_Lenz

Michael Lenz

German gaming firm InnoGames has promoted Michael Lenz as its first chief analytics officer,, he originally joined the company in 2013 as head of analytics.

In his new role will include overseeing responsibilities such as marketing and game analytics, data science, and monetization. Prior to working at InnoGames he was also head of analysis at online game developer Bigpoint GmbH.

“With his rare ability to turn data into insights and insights into impactful initiatives, Michael has contributed greatly to InnoGames’ success, said InnoGames co-founder and CEO Hendrik Klindworth.

“His appointment as CAO and fifth member of the Management Team reflects both his personal achievements and the ever-growing importance of data-driven decision-making.”

Keira McGarvey | Head of people, FuturLab

Keira_McGarvey

Keira_McGarvey

Developer of PowerWash Simulator has appointed Build A Boy Rocket HR manager, Keira_McGarvey as its new head of people.

Keira_McGarvey has spent her career in leadership HR roles at companies such as Bakkavor, TenTel, and Aegon.

In her previous role she implemented human resource infrastructure as the company grow in staff across multiple countries.

With FuturLab, McGarvey will also be creating a people strategy and HR infrastructure to support its employee expansion.

Four new hires | Wizards of the Coast

Left to right, Binita Patel, Ryan Blackwell, Leonora Tomlinson-Bennett, Amanda Costa

Left to right, Binita Patel, Ryan Blackwell, Leonora Tomlinson-Bennett, Amanda Costa

Recently Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast announced quartet of new hires: Binita Patel as team lead customer service E-COM, Ryan Blackwell as UK senior key account manager and Leonora Tomlinson-Bennett as UK social and influencer manager.

Binita Patel brings 15 years of experience where she has worked with E-com and UK grocers’ businesses often. Patel has a background in supply chain and customer service.

Ryan Blackwell joins Wizards of the Coat from Reckitt, where he served as national account manager. He also brings experience from similar positions at Activision Blizzard, Mattel, and Spin Master.

Leonora Tomlinson-Bennett also brings years of experience, having worked communications and marketing for FACEIT. She’s worked in various social media manger roles for companies such as Kairos Media and Betway Group.

Mary DeMarle | Senior Narrative Director, BioWare

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Mary DeMarle

BioWare has snapped up games writing veteran Mary DeMarle for an unspecified project.

DeMarle has spent the last 15 years at Eidos Montreal, where she served as executive narrative director on multiple titles in the Deus Ex Franchise. She also created the story and led the writing team on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, released in 2021.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz last July, DeMarle detailed the journey of creating the Guardians game based on an established IP, but making it a different to pre-existing media.

“They basically told us: ‘We want you to create a game that is the Eidos Montreal version of Guardians of the Galaxy,” DeMarle said. “We don’t want you to make the movie version, we don’t want you to make the comic books. We want you to make this your own, as long as you stay true to the essence of who these characters are’.”

Grace Hui Tang | Independent Director, NetEase

Chinese tech outfit NetEase brings its board count up to six with the appointment of Grace Hui Tang as its newest independent director.

Tang has worked at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for the last 30 years, 19 of which she spent as an audit partner.

In the new role, Tang will also serve as chairperson of the board’s audit, compensation, nominating and committees, as well as a member of its environmental, social and governance committee.

“We are pleased to have Grace join our board,” said NetEase CEO William Ding. “Her deep expertise in accounting, finance and business management, as well as her well-respected career distinguished by her commitment and diligence, make her the perfect fit for our board and our business.”

Three new hires | Curve Games

Left to right, Charlie Andre-Bennett, Kirstian von Fersen, Lynn Daniel

Left to right, Charlie Andre-Bennett, Kirstian von Fersen, Lynn Daniel

UK publisher Curve has announced a trio of new appointments: Charlie Andre-Barrett as head of business development, Kristian von Fersen as franchise director, and Lynn Daniel as director of public relations.

Andre-Barrett brings over 20 years of experience to the role and joins from Team17, where he served as head of sales over the last year. Prior to that role, he spent eight years as a sales manager at Bethesda Softworks.

Von Fersen joins Curve from digital agency Dorset Creative, where he served as head of delivery. He also brings experience from senior roles at Electronic Arts, United Front Games and Relic Entertainment.

Lynn Daniel also brings 25 years’ worth of experience to Curve, having managed PR campaigns with Sega and Atari as director of PR and head of communications, respectively. She’s also a co-founder of tech PR outfit Bope.

“It is an exciting time for Curve Games as we continue to strengthen our presence within the indie developer space to become the go-to publisher for unique and creative videogames,” said Curve Games CEO John Clark.

“We are delighted to welcome Charlie, Kristian and Lynn to the Curve team. I’m confident their considerable collective talents will further invigorate our busy teams and help us drive the business forward.”

If you have jobs news to share or a new hire you want to shout about, please contact us on [email protected]

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