thedraft industry appointments
PAUL TURNER has joined Green Man Gaming as its new performance marketing EVP. Previously, Turner headed up online sports gambling site Sporting Index, where he overhauled the company’s marketing strategy. He’s also worked at QVC, where he spent nine years building its digital marketing programme from scratch. Paul Sulyok, CEO and founder of GMG said: “Paul’s 15 years’ experience at the forefront of digital marketing innovation working in forward thinking industries including online gambling and digital retail is a highly valuable addition to our executive team as we ramp up our internationalisation plans.”
Ukie’s former head of public a airs THEO BLACKWELL has been appointed as the Mayor o ondon’s first chie digital o cer n his newlycreated function, Blackwell will play a leading role in realising the Mayor’s ambition to make London the world’s smartest
city. Ukie CEO Dr Jo Twist OBE said she was “delighted that London has committed to an incl sive, innovation-driven digital economy. Theo has a brilliant track record as a leading transformational force in local government. His appointment is critical in reinforcing London’s position as a leader in the digital economy.” Blackwell added: he new chie digital o cer post is an amazing opportunity to make our capital even more open to innovation, support jobs and investment and make our p lic services more e ective
SARAH HOEKSMA has been appointed as Sold Out’s new marketing director. Having previously worked at the likes of ESL, Ubisoft, EA, Eidos and Square Enix Europe, Hoeksma brings a wealth of brand marketing, live marketing and esports experience to the company. CEO Garry Williams said: “Having someone of Sarah’s calibre to lead our marketing e orts in the physical and digital space for our partners will strengthen our publishing o ering across the oard rom working with some of the very biggest brands in gaming to being at the forefront of esports, ’m confident that Sarah’s knowledge and experience will fit per ectly into the tight-knit Sold Out team.” PlayStack has appointed MADS JENSEN as COO and board director. He will be working alongside CEO and founder
Harvey Elliot to guide the company towards bringing even more creative games to market over the next 12 months. Jensen stated: “I believe this business has all the ingredients to be a game changer for the industry. A team with an outstanding CEO, incredible talent, superb track record and a ar-reaching vision in an exciting and rapidly growing market – PlayStack has the potential to be the next London unicorn. This is a very exciting opportunity, and I am delighted to be joining the PlayStack leadership team to help realise the full potential of the business.”
Koch Media’s DAVID SCARBOROUGH has joined Improbable as PR coordinator for games. In his new role, he will be working closely with the company’s studio partners to showcase the games being made using Improbable’s SpatialOS platform. Scarborough commented: “Improbable is one of the most e citing start- ps in the tech world, and its SpatialOS technology has revolutionised the way developers think about game design. It’s an incredible privilege to work alongside our studio partners and the talented team here in the ondon o ce
Ukie has welcomed three new members onto its team. Industry consultants MARIE-CLAIRE ISAAMAN (pictured top) and VANESSA JOYCE (above, middle) will be supporting and scaling Ukie’s overall mission, while LAURA MARTIN (above) has been appointed to Ukie’s Digital Schoolhouse initiative. Ukie CEO Dr Jo Twist OBE said: “I’m pleased we can bring the e pertise o Vanessa and MarieClaire along with their extensive knowledge, ideas and networks, to help scale the ambitions of Ukie on behalf of the UK games industry. Laura’s digital marketing e pertise will e h gely eneficial to the Digital Schoolhouse project at this important nationwide expansion period. They are all talented and their experience will be a critical part of the Ukie team.”
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