Company Spotlight: Neon River - A Leading Recruitment Firm in the Gaming Industry

Neon River is a prominent recruiting firm in the gaming industry, founded by headhunter Peter Franks in 2016. The company provides executive search services to gaming companies worldwide, catering to PC, console, mobile, and free-to-play game developers. Executive search, also known as headhunting, involves hiring senior candidates, often without advertising positions. Instead, passive candidates are approached proactively. Typical hires include CEO, NED, chairman, chief product officer, CFO, creative director, and chief marketing officer searches. Neon River has established itself as a leading headhunting firm for gaming companies. Peter Franks, the founder and CEO of Neon River, has spent 20 years recruiting senior executives in the gaming industry. As a lifelong gamer, he leverages his industry knowledge and network to help clients find and attract strong leaders. He resides in London and is an Oxford University graduate. Peter Franks' earliest gaming memories date back to the ZX Spectrum in the 1980s. He later owned an Atari ST, PS1, PS2, and now primarily plays games on PC. Games have been his lifelong passion, and he founded Neon River to offer a best-in-class service to the industry. His favorite game is Final Fantasy 7. Neon River collaborates with a diverse range of clients in the gaming sector, from large, multinational businesses with hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in revenue to smaller, high-growth entrepreneurial gaming companies. Clients include King, EA, Miniclip, Metacore, Wooga, Peak Games, Ten Square Games, Star Stable Entertainment, and Calm. According to Rob Small, President and Co-Founder of Miniclip, "We've worked with Peter and Neon River on several important hires over the years, and we've always been very happy with the experience. I'd recommend Neon River as one of the very best executive search firms in the market." For instance, Neon River recently assisted Ten Square Games, a publicly listed Polish mobile game developer, in hiring a new chief product officer. This key hire required finding a candidate who could relocate to their headquarters in Wroclaw. The placed candidate, Dayan Yar, had a strong career in product management with Zynga and SciPlay and relocated from Texas to Wroclaw to take up the position. Neon River builds strong, long-term relationships with its clients. Examples include helping King with 11 hires at C and VP level across various functions, 10 senior-level hires for Miniclip, and assisting Swedish MMORPG developer Star Stable Entertainment in hiring a new CFO, CMO, and Game Design Director. The company has also done pro-bono work for Make-A-Wish, building their games advisory board. Neon River helps clients find and recruit top passive candidates while providing candidates with new ways to advance their careers. You can reach Peter Franks directly via peter@neonriver.com. Neon River regularly releases gaming industry reports, interviews, and other content, including "The Top 30 Leaders in Mobile Gaming," "A Guide to the Mobile Games Industry," and "An Interview with Miniclip CEO Saad Choudri"