September’s Mobile Movers: Tripledot president steps down, The Raine Group appoints new MD, Aghanim hires VP, and more

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To keep you up to date with the latest movers and shakers in the mobile games industry, we’ve put together a regular roundup of the latest hires, promotions and, in some cases, exits.

If you’ve recently joined a company or bagged a big promotion, or you’re an employer that’s just made a hire, drop us an email at news@pocketgamer.biz, and we can include it in our weekly update.

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Below you can see our regularly updated roundup of September’s mobile movers and shakers.

Additional reporting by Craig Chapple.

Tripledot co-founder and president steps down

Tripledot Studios co-founder and president Akin Babayigit has stepped down from his role and daily operations at the company after more than seven years. He will continue to serve on the board.

Since it was founded in 2017, the developer has grown to approximately 500 staff, with more than 60 million people playing its portfolio of games, which includes Woodoku, Solitaire, Triple Tile and Tile Dynasty.

“In the process of becoming a large company, I’ve come to realise that my true ‘flow-state’ is the ‘0-to-1’ phase of a company’s journey,” said Babayigit in a LinkedIn post.

“That’s where I feel most energised and at my best. So after much consideration, I realised that change is the only constant in life, I have decided to take a step back from the day-to-day operations of TDS.

“I will continue to serve on the board and will always remain the company’s number one fan. I have no doubt that the best part of the Tripledot story is ahead.”

Movers at Appodeal, PlayCap and Blizzard

Former SuperScale head of growing marketing Daniel Rysan has joined mobile apps growth outfit Appodeal as lead UA. He has previously also worked at BoomBit as head of ASO and Pixel Federation as performance marketing manager.

Sophie Vo has been named as an advisor at PlayCap, a new angel investor network of experienced women in the games industry, specialising in investments in studios, companies and tech in games. Vo is an advisor for a number of companies, including Click Games and Talofa, and has previously worked at companies including Neon Koi, Voodoo, and Rovio. She is also a investor, leadership coach, and runs the Rise and Play podcast.

Blizzard’s Odin Soevik has been promoted to senior product manager on Diablo Immortal. He joined the publisher in June 2023, having previously worked at EA.

The Raine Group appoints a new managing director

Strategic advisory and investment firm The Raine Group has recruited Alexander Verbitsky as a managing director at the company. He will focus on the firm’s work in the games industry and help expand its presence in the European market.

Verbitsky has joined from mobile developer Tripledot Studios, where they led corporate development and strategy. The studio is also a portfolio company of The Raine Group.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Alex to our team,” said The Raine Group co-founder and partner John Salter.

“As a global leader in the TMT sector, we are always focused on evolution within our sectors for our advisory and investing businesses, and we are eager to advance our role in Europe, particularly in gaming.

“Alex’s robust experience and familiarity in the market uniquely positions him to drive growth across our operations on the continent.”

Verbitsky commented: “Raine is a global leader in sports, entertainment, music and gaming, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to further grow its gaming business across Europe.

“I’m thrilled to take on this role at the hub for Raine’s gaming business in Europe and enhance our ongoing efforts to better serve clients, expand our local presence and drive strategic growth across the sector.”

Hires and promotions at CrazyLabs and Scopely

Pankaj Choudhary has joined publisher CrazyLabs as its new head of business development – M&A for INSEA and ME. He was previously head of INSEA – business development at Applovin and has also worked at Glance, Facebook and IronSource.

Scopely’s Pedro Bravo has been promoted to lead product manager at Scopely, working on blockbuster mobile game Monopoly Go. He has worked at the publisher since 2020.

Aghanim hires new VP

Mobile games fintech firm Aghanim has appointed Conor McLaughlin as its new VP of revenue and partnerships.

He will lead the company’s strategic partnerships and revenue growth initiatives with mobile games publishers across the Americas and EU.

McLaughlin joins the company from Liftoff where he worked for three years, most recently as head of new business. He has previously served as director of business development at Vungle, as well as leading publisher relations at Jun Group.

“We are thrilled to welcome Conor to the Aghanim leadership team,” said Aghanim co-founder and co-CEO Constantin Andry.

“Conor’s deep understanding of mobile gaming and business development will be invaluable as we continue to help developers and publishers unlock new revenue streams and enable business leaders wanting to navigate the ever-changing mobile games landscape better.”

McLaughlin added: “Joining Aghanim is an exciting opportunity to lead the way in the next phase of mobile game monetisation. I look forward to helping developers and publishers take back control through Aghanim’s suite of interoperable tools and D2C strategies, which unlock greater value and foster deeper player relationships.”

Homa swoops for two senior recruits

There are two appointments at Homa, with new team member Dean Grandquist taking on the VP of technology role. Grandquist has previously led mobile teams and strategic projects at Blizzard Entertainment, Scopely, and Electronic Arts. 

“I’m excited to join Homa, especially drawn by the potential of Homa Lab to revolutionise and elevate game creation through data and gaming insights,” said Grandquist.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside this talented and ambitious team to continue building the next generation of Homa’s games.”

Homa’s second job hire is games industry veteran Szymon Sirocki, who is taking on the role of lead mobile architect.

Sirocki brings a decade of experience in the games industry, previously holding the position of CTO at BoomBit, technical lead at Playtika and unity team lead at Moon Active. 

“I’m thrilled to join Homa and work with such a talented team,” said Sirocki.

“Homa’s tech stack holds immense potential. I look forward to contributing to the development of cutting-edge tools and technologies to create the next generation of mobile games”. 

New hires at Yodo 1 Games, Gram Games, Wooga and Moloco

Milos Scepanovic has been promoted from global recruitment lead to head of growth at Yodo1 Games. Scepanovic joined the company in 2023 after holding positions as a senior recruiter at Kolibri Games and as a talent acquisition lead at Megarama Games.

Sukrit Choudhry has started a new position as game design director at Gram Games. Choudhry comes from previous experience as associate director of design at Zynga and has over 12 years of game design experience. 

Scopely has hired Adam Telfer as its VP of product, head of slate strategy. He previously served as senior director of product managent at Bungie, and prior to that at Bungie with the same title. His other credits include StarBerry Games, Wooga and EA.

Love & Pies creator Trailmix Games has welcomed Ivan Babkin to the team as a product analyst. Babkin was previously a junior data analyst at Bumble.

Martin Rusev has joined Wooga as an associate publishing director. During his five-year stay at Gameloft, Rusev previously held positions such as product marketing manager and studio marketing director. 

Christy Wong-Taylor starts a new position as head of gaming at Moloco, leaving her position as VP of growth at The Sandbox, where she previously held the head of user acquisition position when she joined in 2022.

Senior appointments at Golden Whale and Voodoo

Games infrastructure company Golden Whale has appointed Thomas Aigner as its new SVP of business development. With almost two decades of experience in games, e-commerce, AI, and machine learning, Aigner joins the team to enhance its market presence. 

“I’m incredibly proud to join Golden Whale,” said Aigner. 

“It is without a doubt one of the most innovative and forward-thinking companies in the entire gaming and data science space, in no small part thanks to its extremely experienced founding team. In my new role, I am committed to developing a growth strategy that will create new opportunities and ensure long-term success.”

Felipe Mata joins Voodoo as its general manager. He brings extensive experience in the mobile games industry, which he has acquired throughout his career at the likes of King and FunPlus. 

Mata commented on the new role on his LinkedIn: “I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined Voodoo as the general manager to lead one of the most ambitious projects in the company’s history!

“We’re aiming to reshape not just Voodoo but the entire gaming industry by creating the next big match-3 game that will compete head-to-head with giants like Candy Crush and Royal Match for the top-grossing crown.”