Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, departures, and promotions across the gaming sector can be a daunting task. To make it easier for readers, we regularly compile these personnel changes into concise round‑up articles. If you know of any new appointments or transitions that belong in a future edition, please forward the individual's name, new title, new organization, as well as their previous role and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Nate Nanzer has departed Epic Games after a seven‑year tenure to assume the role of Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games. During his time at Epic, Nanzer held several senior positions, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation. "The scale of the ambition and vision here for what's next is incredibly exciting," Nanzer said.
"I've spent my career at the intersection of games, entertainment, and fandom, and the opportunity to help build what comes next at Paramount was simply too compelling to pass up." He added, "I'm deeply grateful to everyone at Epic and to all of the partners I've had the opportunity to work with along the way. I'll always be proud of what we accomplished together and will be cheering the team on from the sidelines." Julia Gutnik has been named Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Prior to this appointment, Gutnik led Media, Social & Analytics for Kia America and spent over six years at Amazon Studios and Prime Video, where she oversaw digital and ad‑tech media operations. "After two years navigating the auto industry, I am returning to my entertainment roots, and to the place that shaped me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik explained, underscoring her excitement to re‑engage with the gaming community.
Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer. Antoniazzi previously worked as a producer at Roarty Digital, contributing to high‑profile projects such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite, where she honed her skills in visual direction and cross‑disciplinary collaboration. Aysu Kutbay has taken on the position of Product Manager at Grand Games, after serving in a similar capacity at Rollic where she helped launch several successful mobile titles and refined data‑driven product strategies. David Bailey returns to Games Workshop as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing.
Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 for a director role at Sumo Digital, and now comes back to help steer licensing initiatives across the expansive Warhammer portfolio. "It's a privilege to return to the vast and evergreen Warhammer universes to help spearhead new business for licensing here," he remarked. "It's an incredible opportunity and it's great to be back in the fold working alongside great people." Liana Murphy has been appointed Account Director for US Operations at Second Stage.
Murphy most recently held the dual roles of COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing, where she managed agency‑level client relationships and oversaw large‑scale PR campaigns. Tim Coombs steps into the role of Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.
Before this, Coombs spent six years at Xbox, most recently as Director of Brand Management, after joining the division in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. His earlier experience includes a stint as Product Marketing Manager for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later as Senior Product Marketing Manager and Team Lead for Amazon Game Tech until April 2020. Erik Mogensen has exited Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming. Prior to that, Mogensen spent 23 years at Games Workshop, culminating in the position of Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing.
"It's not lost on me how special it's been to have worked on, and for, my favourite brands," he said. "First Warhammer, and most recently Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transformers… the list goes on. I'm very much looking forward to my next chapter, whatever and wherever that may be." Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Producer. Rubin previously served as Senior Producer at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile games based on popular IPs – Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset.
He also spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends franchise. Andrey Odintsov has been named Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games. Odintsov's background includes a user acquisition manager role at Multicast Games and recent work as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for various gaming titles.
Dan Lazarides takes the helm as Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega Europe and succeeded Jo Cooke after she moved into the CEO position at Frontier in January.
"We are delighted to welcome Dan to Frontier, who brings with him a wealth of experience on some of the industry's largest IP," said Cooke. "His leadership in this genre will continue Frontier's upward momentum, and his appointment to the role of CMO highlights our focus on our communities. Dan will be at the heart of our player‑first strategy, ensuring our publishing team champions player creativity and celebrates the way in which they play our games." Karen Ionescu becomes Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK.
Ionescu's résumé includes sales leadership roles at Numskull Games, Nintendo, and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson praised her: "We're delighted to welcome Karen to Kalypso Media UK.
She brings a wealth of commercial experience and long‑standing relationships across both retail and digital sales channels, making her a fantastic addition to the team." Hannah Barrett has been promoted to Senior Account Executive at esports and gaming communications agency Swipe Right, after joining as an Account Executive in December 2025. Supercell appoints Anni Pyy as Contract Manager.
Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore, where she negotiated licensing agreements and managed external partnerships. Nathan Solbrandt steps into the role of SVP of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD.
His prior experience includes senior account executive work at Motorica and a Vice President of Business Development position for the Americas at Xsolla. Olivia Lee joins Riot Games as Internal Events Producer, building on her prior role as Associate Producer for internal events and programs within the company. Ciarah Pritchard becomes Account Coordinator at Xsolla after serving as Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards, where she oversaw campaign analytics and client reporting.
Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as Vice President of Communications. Thompson originally joined Bethesda in 2009 as Director of Publications, later becoming Associate VP of Communications before leaving for Electronic Arts in 2019.
"I'm looking forward to partnering with the talented people across Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the teams behind some of the most iconic franchises in entertainment, and helping bring their creativity and vision to players around the world," she said. Maddie Richter is appointed Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, moving from a Social Media Manager role at Alaska Airlines where she led digital engagement strategies for a major airline brand. Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as Narrative Designer, after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment, where she crafted storylines for multiple indie titles.
Yogscast Games announces three new hires: Charlotte Willis as PR and Influencer Manager (formerly Creator and Community Director at Diva Agency), Robin Mawhinney as Production Coordinator (previously Junior Producer at Atelier 11), and Charlotte Pang as Publishing Coordinator (with a background as producer, animator, and artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, plus teaching stints at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox's Foundation AI team to support the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand.
The duo co‑founded Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors. "At Jars AI we saw hundreds of thousands of creators use AI to shape weird new worlds and stories, and we're excited to keep pushing the boundaries of AI entertainment in our new roles," Holm explained. Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services, after a product manager stint on Call of Duty at Activision and an earlier business development internship at the same studio.
Joe Chard is named Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games. Chard previously held senior leadership positions at Jam City—including Vice President, Studio General Manager, and Head of Product—for six years, and also held key product roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
These moves illustrate the dynamic nature of talent flow within the interactive entertainment industry, highlighting how seasoned professionals continue to shape the future of games, media, and related technologies across a diverse set of companies.