November’s Mobile Movers and Shakers: Unity recruits CFO, new Homa hire, Pollen VC founder leaves, 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.
Below you can see our regularly updated roundup of November’s mobile movers and shakers. You can check out October’s roundup here.
Unity’s latest executive hire
Unity has tapped Jarrod Yahes for the position of SVP, chief financial officer as the game engine and ads firm continues its executive shakeup with new CEO Matt Bromberg.
He previously served as Shutterstock CFO for five years. He has also worked as CFO at marketing tech company Zeta Global and Jackson Hewitt Tax Services and in multiple capacities at ExlService Holdings.
He’ll begin his new role on from January 1st, 2025.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jarrod to Unity. His blend of operational rigour and growth orientation will be instrumental for Unity’s next stage,” said Unity CEO and president Matt Bromberg.
“We’ve now solidified the leadership team that will drive Unity towards greater operational discipline, accelerated product innovation, and deeper relationships with our customers and the community.”
Yahes added: “Unity has established itself as the only global platform that supports developers across the entire lifecycle of making, marketing, and monetising games and interactive experiences.”
“I’m so excited to join Matt and the team to support Unity’s mission. Unity is a special company with a unique place in the ecosystem.”
Movers at Homa, Antler and Pollen VC
Hypercasual and hybridcasual games publisher Homa has continued its hiring spree, this time appointing Katerina Burbela as senior business development manager. Prior to joining the company, she has held roles at the likes of Gamigo, Remote Control Productions and Kevuru Games.
“Katerina’s arrival reflects the high level of talent we’re bringing in to strengthen our team,” said Homa president and CBO Henry Lowenfels.
“Her drive, vision, and expertise in business development will help us broaden our global reach and forge key partnerships as we continue to create games that people love.”
GameFounders co-founder Kadri Harma has joined early stage investment outfit Antler as scouting partner.
In the role, Harma said she would be supporting Antler Finland in actively looking for the world’s “most driven founders” to join the next cohort, which kicks off in March 2025.
As well as working for Antler and co-founding investment fund and mentoring program GameFounders, Hadri has previously held roles as the CEO of Nine66, the co-founder of TEDxTallinn and IGDA Estonia president.
Pollen VC founder and CEO Martin Macmillan has left the company after 10 years following last year’s acquisition of the firm by Fasanara.
“I’m exploring new opportunities with investors in the alternative lending space in the gaming/app sector, both in Europe and the US and remain passionate about helping founders understand and implement capital-efficient ways to fund growth, alongside their VC investors – that engineer the best outcomes for everyone,” wrote Macmillan on LinkedIn.
“In the meantime, I’m also building out Mobile Finance Collective – our community for CFOs and finance leads in the mobile gaming and app space, working with Anna Nikulina as our head of community and partnerships. MFC provides a platform to have the conversations and access finance-focused content not possible anywhere else.”
Raptor PR hires
Raptor PR has recruited Enzo Vallente as junior account manager. He’s previously worked with brands including Eventbrite, SoftBank and HubSpot. The B2B tech PR agency has also hired Durham University graduate Clara Vazquez as junior executive.
“I’m stoked to be joining the Raptor PR team,” said Vallente. “I jumped at the chance to work with the team at the forefront of B2B PR in the video games industry. It’s a sector that’s ripe for innovation, and Raptor is definitely leading the charge.”
Vazquez commented: “I am thrilled to have joined the Raptor team. I’ve really enjoyed my first two months in the role, getting to know everyone and learning about what Raptor and the games industry has to offer. I can’t wait to attend my first conference and expand my client-facing skills.”
New recruits at Soundcuts, Experis, Rovio and WildCard Games
Analog Events founder Alex Boucher is working with audio production company Soundcuts as senior business development manager.
Frank Pape has been appointed as VP of games at testing services provider Experis. His previous credits include Scopely, Twilio, Microsoft, EA and Activision.
Former Rovio director of product for Angry Birds 2 Christopher Fady has been named as director of product at EA. As well as Rovio, Fady has worked at a number of games companies, including Scopely, Gameloft and King.
Reda Rami has joined WildCard Games as motion designer. He has previously worked for Rzain Consulting as video editor and 2D animator lead, as well as Carry1st as video editor and animator.
Rollic senior product manager Ali Han Satır has been promoted to head of live games at the hypercasual publisher.
Mario Viviani has been promoted to the role of senior manager, developer relations at Nvidia Omniverse. He leads a team focused on driving adoption of the platform, which aims to make it easier for developers to share assets, sort asset libraries, collaborate and deploy AI to animate characters’ facial expressions.
Former Netflix Games boss Mike Verdu takes new AI role
Ex-Netflix VP of games Mike Verdu has been appointed as the VP of GenAI at the streaming giant.
He moved into a new role at the company earlier focused on “innovation in game development”. He was replaced in his previous position by former Epic Games EVP of development Alain Tascan as president of Netflix Games.
In his new position, Verdu said he aims to drive “a once in a generation inflection point” for game development and player experiences using generative AI.
He said the tech could be used to speed up development and offer new types of experiences.
“I am focused on a creator-first vision for AI, one that puts creative talent at the centre, with AI being a catalyst and an accelerant,” he said.
“AI will enable big game teams to move much faster, and will also put an almost unimaginable collection of new capabilities in the hands of developers in smaller game teams.”
He added: “I don’t think I’ve been this excited about an opportunity in this industry since the 90s, when we saw a new game launch every few months that redefined what was possible.
“It was an incredible time to be making games as talented creators showed all of us what the future looked like. Guess what? We’re back to those days of seemingly unlimited potential and the rapid pace of innovation, which resulted in mind-blowing surprises for players every few months.”
Unity names new COO and Homa appoints head of corporate development
Unity has promoted its senior VP of corporate development Alex Blum to the position of chief operating officer.
His appointment is effective from November 1st, 2024. Blum joined Unity in July 2024 and has extensive experience in the technology sector. Before heading to Unity, he served as an investor and advisor to several tech companies and was the executive chairman of Tru Optik until its acquisition by TransUnion.
His other credits include KickApps Corporation CEO, JumpTV, president and COO, and AOL VP of product.
His new role will see him earning an annual base salary of $525,000, with a target bonus of 75% of his base salary, subject to the terms of the firm’s corporate bonus plan.
Hypercasual and hybridcasual publisher Homa has appointed Rohan Jain as its head of corporate development. Jain previously held the role of director of corporate development and strategy at Zynga, and has also previously worked at NCSoft.
At Homa, Jain will lead the company’s efforts in executing strategic partnerships to help the company scale and build out its hybridcasual business.
“Rohan arrives to Homa at a key moment of growth and expansion,” said Homa president and CBO Henry Lowenfels.
“We are accelerating our efforts around investing in high-potential game companies that will help us achieve our ambitious goals. We are confident that Rohan’s vision and experience will help us identify and partner with top-tier studios and businesses.”
Steel Media expands business development team
Steel Media has hired two new business development managers as the team behind Pocket Gamer Connects expands off the back of the success of the media and events business.
Suzanne Smith has joined as senior business development manager for PocketGamer.biz and PG Connects. She has vast experience in sales and as an accounts director, previously working at The Payments Association, Xeim Labs and Drapers.
Mark O’Leary has been named as business development manager, joining from games industry PR agency Raptor PR where he worked for nearly three years.
Steel Media has a packed events agenda over the next year. Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan will take place on November 9th and 10th, followed by the Pocket Gamer Awards 2024 in London on December 6th, and PGC London on January 20th to 21st.
“I’m excited to welcome two exceptional business developers to our sales team,” said Bisset.
“Their expertise and fresh perspectives will be instrumental in driving growth and innovation for PG Connects and PocketGamer.Biz, helping us strengthen client relationships and expand our games industry impact. Exciting times ahead!”
For business opportunities on PocketGamer.biz and Pocket Gamer Connects, please email lisa.bisset@steelmedianetwork.com.
Next year we’ll also be bringing PGC San Francisco on March 17th to 18th, hosting the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 powered by Pocket Gamer Connects on May 7th and 8th, and bringing PGC back to Helsinki again on October 7th to 8th. Meanwhile, we’re also set to launch our first ever conference in Barcelona – stay tuned for more details!
Take This clinical director exits after a decade
Take This clinical director Raffael Boccamazzo has left the nonprofit mental health organisation Take This after 10 years working with the group, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
The organisation provides mental health education and resources for people working in the games industry.
“There’s so much I’m proud to have done with the org,” said Boccamazzo. “However, the truth is that nonprofit life is hard. Since I became a dad earlier this year, I find my focus is more on my family.
“I can’t commit to all the extra hours required of being a director at a small nonprofit organisation while maintaining the focus on my family that they deserve. I’d end up underserving everyone on both sides of that coin. As my schedule allows, I’d eventually like to find ways to support the org in a more limited capacity, but for now I need to focus on me and my family.
“The good news is that the folks remaining at Take This have the drive, energy, commitment, and passion to make sure the mission not only continues, but that it grows and expands! I can’t wait to see what they do with it.”
Movers at WildCard Games, Xsolla, Rovio and more
Rzain consultant Claire Rozain has joined WildCard Games as growth lead contractor. In a LinkedIn post, Rozain said the move came after several months of ad monetisation consulting for the studio.
Former Tapjoy global chief revenue officer Shannon Jessup has joined games commerce company Xsolla as a consultant.
Ex-Firesquid business development director Ben Barrett has been recruited as business development director at gaming M&A and fundraising advisory firm Quantum Tech Partners.
Rovio senior product manager Anastasiya Kara has been promoted to lead product manager at the Angry Birds developer. As well as Rovio, Kara has previously worked at Scopely, Product Madness and Gameloft.
Influencer marketing firm AAA Agency has hired Ksenia Yurkina as senior public relations manager. Yurkina has previously held roles at Apptica and Hermitage Group.
