People news 16 October 2014
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (10 October to 16 October 2014)
Rank Group in management reshuffle
Mecca Bingo MD Mark Jones to lead Grosvenor Casinos business following departure of Phil Urban
Rank Group has been forced into a management reshuffle after managing director of its Grosvenor Casinos brand Phil Urban announced he was leaving the firm.
Urban, who has served as MD of Grosvenor Casinos for the past six years, will leave his position at the end of the month to become chief operating officer at pub and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butlers.
As a result of Urban’s departure, Mecca Bingo managing director Mark Jones will switch brands at Rank and lead the Grosvenor Casinos business while Rank said it would look to appoint an external candidate to succeed Jones at Mecca.
Former Pizza Hut UK CEO Jones originally joined the Rank Group in 2009, and CEO Henry Birch has backed his ability to take the Grosvenor brand “to the next level”.
Digital sports data firm Perform Group has announced the appointment of Dirk Ifsen as managing director of the company’s German arm.
Ifsen has been promoted to the role after previously serving as managing director of the firm’s Opta operations in Germany, a role he has held since 2010
“[Germany] remains a key market for the company and my team and I are strongly focussed and committed to continue to build the company’s operations in the country,” Ifsen said.
“Perform already works with some of the largest media companies in Germany to deliver the highest quality sports digital content, advertising solutions and editorial, and we look forward to building upon this success,” he added.
Seven days in people news:
Online gaming content provider Vermantia has made a quartet of new hires to help the Greece-based firm expand its international business.
The appointments include former Tony Plaskow, formerly of Bally Technologies, as its new head of business development and Richard Clarke as head of licensing and games operation.
The two industry veterans will be accompanied by Carlos Silva and Mohit Chaddah who were appointed sales director for virtual games and gaming technology manager respectively.
“We strongly believe that talent drives growth, and we believe these gentlemen to be hugely talented,” Vermantia chief executive, Filippos Antonopoulos, said.
“The collaborative environment and innovative spirit of our team will allow them to participate in our company’s vision and help us carve a niche for Vermantia in the global gaming market.”
Inspired Gaming Group has promoted Lucy Buckley from the role of marketing director to director of strategy and communications.
In her new role Buckley joins the company’s executive team and will be responsible for documenting Inspired’s corporate and divisional strategies, as well as tracking its short-term and long-term business objectives.
“I look forward to the challenges ahead as I start my new role at Inspired and embark on a part-time MBA at Cass Business School in London,” Buckley said.
“I also look forward to playing a more active role within the global gaming industry,” she added.
RealNetworks’ gaming subsidiary GameHouse has appointed Plaor co-founder Alex Kotowitz to lead its social casino business, eGaming Review has learned.
Kotowitz was recently appointed the new GM of the company’s casino team having worked for the firm since November 2013 as a strategic marketing consultant.
In 2011, he co-founded social games developer Plaor, which released titles including Hollywood Poker and Mega Fame Casino & Slots, before being acquired by CrowdGather in May 2014 for approximately $5m.
Zynga chief creative officer Tim LeTournea and SVP of games Steve Parkis have both left the firm in order to take up new roles at mobile games operator Storm8.
Both LeTournea and Parkis joined Storm8 earlier this month after leaving their roles at the FarmVille-developer in September and will report to Storm8 CEO and co-founder Perry Tam.
LeTournea has taken up a newly created CCO role at Storm8 after holding the same position at Zynga for two years following a five-year stint at Electronic Arts where he worked as VP & GM of the company’s Sims studio.