Industry Personnel Updates: August 2026 – Paramount Games Names Nate Nanzer as EVP of Commercial & Marketing

Keeping track of the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the gaming sector can be a challenge, which is why we regularly publish concise round‑ups of the most noteworthy moves. If you have a change at your organization that you think belongs in this list, please email the name of the individual, the new position and company, plus the previous role and employer to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Nate Nanzer departs Epic Games after a seven‑year stint to take on the role of Executive Vice President, heading Commercial & Marketing at Paramount Games.

During his time at Epic, Nanzer held a number of senior posts, the most recent being Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Monetisation. "The ambition and vision that Paramount is pursuing for the next era is truly exhilarating," Nanzer said. "My career has always lived at the crossroads of games, broader entertainment and fan culture, and the chance to help shape the future of Paramount’s portfolio was an offer I couldn’t refuse." He added, "I’m deeply grateful to everyone at Epic and to all the partners I’ve collaborated with.

I’ll always be proud of what we achieved together and will continue to cheer the team from the sidelines." Julia Gutnik has been named Head of Media at Amazon Gaming. Prior to this, she led Media, Social & Analytics for Kia America and spent more than six years at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, where she oversaw digital and ad‑tech media operations. "After two years in the automotive sector, I’m returning to my entertainment roots and to the company that helped shape me into a global marketing leader," Gutnik explained.

Lorna Antoniazzi joins Studio MDHR as Art Producer. She previously worked as a producer at Roarty Digital, contributing to the Fortnite Battle Royale and Lego Fortnite projects.

Aysu Kutbay becomes Product Manager at Grand Games, having previously held the same title at Rollic. David Bailey is back at Games Workshop, this time as Lead Commercial Manager – Licensing. Bailey originally joined Games Workshop in 2019 as Senior Licensing Manager, left in 2021 to become Director of Business Affairs at Sumo Digital, and now returns to the Warhammer universe.

"It’s an honour to come back to the expansive, evergreen Warhammer worlds and help drive new licensing opportunities," Bailey said. "The chance to work alongside such talented colleagues is fantastic." Liana Murphy steps into the role of Account Director for U.S.

Operations at Second Stage. Before this, she simultaneously served as COO and Head of Public Relations at Vicariously and V Publishing. Tim Coombs has been appointed Head of Brand Marketing for Amazon Luna.

Coombs previously served as Director of Brand Management at Xbox until July 2026, having joined the console division in 2020 as Senior Manager for Brand Strategy. He also led product marketing for Amazon Lumberyard in 2017 and later headed the Amazon Game Tech team until April 2020. Erik Mogensen exits Hasbro and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast after three years as Senior Director of Business Development for Digital Gaming.

Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Games Workshop, finishing as Head of Business Development and Consumer Product Licensing. "Working on my favourite brands – from the original Warhammer to Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Transformers – has been a privilege," Mogensen reflected.

"I’m eager to see what the next chapter holds, wherever it may be." Ryan Rubin joins Blizzard Entertainment as a Senior Producer. His most recent role was Senior Producer at Netflix, where he helped ship two mobile titles: Squid Game: Unleashed and Selling Sunset. Rubin also spent five years at Riot Games, contributing to creative development across the League of Legends IP. Andrey Odintsov becomes Head of Marketing at Battlestate Games.

He previously worked as User Acquisition Manager at Multicast Games and currently operates as an independent growth and go‑to‑market consultant for gaming projects. Dan Lazarides has been named Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments. Lazarides came from Sega Europe, where he was Senior Vice President of Marketing, and succeeds Jo Cooke, who moved into the CEO role at Frontier in January. "Dan brings a wealth of experience from some of the industry’s biggest IPs," Cooke said.

"His leadership will keep our upward momentum and reinforce our player‑first strategy, ensuring our publishing team champions community creativity and the way players engage with our games." Karen Ionescu is appointed Digital Sales Manager at Kalypso Media UK. She previously held the Sales Manager position at Numskull Games and has also worked for Nintendo and Rising Star Games. Managing Director Andrew Johnson welcomed her, noting, "Karen’s extensive commercial background and deep relationships across retail and digital channels make her a valuable addition to our 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 names Anni Pyy as Contract Manager; Pyy previously spent four years in the same capacity at Metacore. Nathan Solbrandt becomes Senior Vice President of Business Development at fintech platform ZBD. He previously served as Senior Account Executive at Motorica and as Vice President of Business Development for the Americas at Xsolla.

Olivia Lee is appointed Internal Events Producer at Riot Games, moving up from an Associate Producer role focused on internal programs and events. Ciarah Pritchard joins Xsolla as Account Coordinator, after working as an Account Performance Manager at Playback Rewards. 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 a 2019 stint at Electronic Arts as Head of Product and Studio Integrated Communications. "I look forward to collaborating with the talented teams at Bethesda and Xbox, supporting the creators behind some of the most iconic franchises and helping bring their vision to players worldwide," Thompson said. Maddie Richter takes on the role of Social Media Marketing Manager at Nintendo of America, after previously managing social media for Alaska Airlines.

Dana Duffield joins Yotta Games as a Narrative Designer, having been Senior Narrative Designer at Series Entertainment. 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 past experience as Producer, Animator and Artist for Team Gramps and Queensguard, and as an instructor at Submarine Art School and The Code Zone). Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have been added to Roblox’s Foundation AI team to bolster the mobile‑first AI creation tool Build in New Zealand. The duo co‑founded the AI interactive platform Jars AI in 2023, raising $3.5 million from Google and other investors.

"At Jars AI we saw hundreds of thousands of creators harness AI to craft novel worlds and narratives, and we’re excited to push the boundaries of AI entertainment in our new roles," Holm said. Sathvik Sudireddy joins Rockstar Games as Marketing Manager for Live Services. He previously served as Product Manager on Call of Duty at Activision following a business‑development internship at the developer. Joe Chard becomes Lead Product Manager at Netflix Games, after a six‑year tenure at Jam City where they were Vice President, Studio General Manager and Head of Product, and after senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.

Entertainment.