Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures across the gaming sector can be a real challenge, which is why we regularly publish consolidated round‑ups. If you know of any noteworthy personnel changes at your organization—new appointments, role shifts, or exits—please forward the name, new title, company, and previous position to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. In this edition, Fandom announced three senior additions to its executive leadership roster and also promoted a long‑standing veteran. Anita Butler has been named Senior Vice President of Design & User Research.
Butler arrives from Nextdoor, where she served as Executive Vice President of Design and Research, and she previously held senior design roles at Twitter (Vice President of Consumer Design) and Strava (Chief Design Officer). Her extensive background in consumer‑focused design and research is expected to deepen Fandom’s understanding of its fan community. Damon Sicore joins Fandom as Chief Technology Officer and head of Fandom Labs.
Sicore’s résumé includes senior engineering leadership at both Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he oversaw the teams responsible for core web technologies such as Firefox, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. His expertise in open‑source platforms and large‑scale infrastructure will be instrumental as Fandom expands its technical capabilities. Peter Scanlon has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer. Scanlon brings a wealth of experience from previous executive roles at Google, Mozilla, and Monks, giving him a strong foundation in brand strategy, user acquisition, and community engagement—key areas for a company whose business model revolves around passionate fan bases.
In addition, Daniel Grunwell, a fifteen‑year Fandom veteran, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering. In his new capacity, Grunwell will oversee the engineering and infrastructure divisions, ensuring that the platform remains reliable and scalable as its user base continues to grow. "Fandom stands on an incredible foundation—millions of fans who have spent years building knowledge and communities around the things they love," said CEO Jay Sullivan.
"Our goal is to build on that legacy and give fans even more ways to connect, discover, and participate. Daniel’s deep tenure gives him an intimate understanding of our roots, while Damon, Peter and Anita bring fresh perspectives and deep consumer‑platform expertise. Together, we have the right team to build the next generation of Fandom." Other notable moves in the industry include Jonathan Knight’s appointment as Chief Games Officer at The New York Times.
Knight previously served as Senior Vice President and head of games, where he led the acquisition and integration of the wildly popular Wordle. Chase Shi has returned to Scopely as Vice President and head of game product.
Shi originally left Scopely in 2020 as a senior product manager, later serving as Director of Product Management at Jam City and then at Blizzard Entertainment, where he worked on Diablo. His return signals Scopely’s intent to strengthen its product pipeline.
Jonathan Marcelino has been named Director of Product at Scopely. Marcelino founded and served as CEO of the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games, bringing indie‑studio leadership experience to the larger publisher.
Berkay Özer takes over as Head of Studio at Fomo Games. Özer joined the company in 2022 as a product specialist and later led the product team before a brief stint at Loom Games as product manager in 2025.
Peter Sydow has joined Arrowhead Game Studios as Head of Production after senior producer roles at Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions. Ryan Ngoon was promoted to Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment.
He entered Blizzard in 2023 as a quest‑design intern, progressed to associate game designer in 2024, and now contributes to the design of new experiences across Blizzard’s portfolio. Sarah Johnson becomes an Art Producer at Epic Games, adding to her extensive background that includes producer positions at Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13, and Telltale Games. Brian Trunk has been appointed Senior Vice President of Route to Market for the Americas at Asmodee.
Trunk, a partner at Asmodee for over a decade, previously spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast in roles such as Vice President of Commercial, Digital Games Revenue, and head of the Wizards Play Network, as well as regional leadership across EMEA, LATAM, and APAC. "I’m grateful for my years at Wizards of the Coast and for the people who challenged, taught, and shaped me into the leader I am today," Trunk said. "I’ve always believed the most successful businesses are built on great people, strong relationships, trust, and community.
At Asmodee, those values combine with a shared love of games, making this move deeply personal." Rovio promoted Wille Miljas to Director of Product Marketing. Miljas, who joined Rovio in 2024 as marketing lead, previously headed marketing at Good Shepherd Entertainment and Redhill Games, and served as Senior Marketing Manager for planning and strategy at Next Games.
Behaviour Interactive named Jameson Durall Senior Design Director on the upcoming title Blight: Survival. Durall previously worked at Insomniac Games as an advanced senior game designer on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2. Matt Dobill was elevated to Director of Applied AI at Epic Games, while also serving as Senior Counsel on technology and tools, reflecting Epic’s growing focus on AI‑driven development pipelines.
Joe Gabriel joined Unity as Senior Technical Production Manager for AndroidXR. Gabriel’s prior experience includes leading customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and senior developer‑relations management at Niantic.
Erik Meurk has been promoted to Senior Software Engineer at King. Meurk started as a Unity development intern in August 2023, became an associate software engineer in early 2024, and now contributes to King’s core game engines. Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé was promoted to Lead UX Designer at Epic Games after joining as a senior UX designer in 2023, having previously held the same role at Behaviour Interactive. Jack Anderson joined Rebellion as a VFX Artist, bringing experience from similar positions at nDreams and Interior/Night.
David Scarborough became Senior Manager of EMEA Communications at Blizzard Entertainment. His prior roles include senior account director at Brands2Life, head of communications at Inflexion Games, and senior positions at Improbable and Koch Media/Deep Silver. King appointed Esther Lopez as Principal VFX Artist. Lopez first joined King in 2014 as a senior artist, advanced to associate principal VFX artist in 2020, left for Meta in 2022 to work on VR‑AR real‑time VFX, and now returns to King, describing the move as a rare privilege.
Magda Marcinkowska was named Production Manager, Marketing at CD Projekt Red after serving as Acting Publishing Operations Director at Techland. Linh Lai became Accounting Assistant at Newzoo following a six‑month internship. Lai highlighted how the internship helped her understand the interplay between individual accounting processes and broader business operations.
Tommi Virolainen joined Kokoon Games as Senior Game Programmer. He previously worked as a tech programmer at Metacore and held senior programming roles at Lightneer. Christopher Holtorf was appointed Senior Quest Designer at CD Projekt Red, after serving as Senior Narrative Designer at Intrepid Studios. Amir Satvat joined 1Up Ventures as a General Partner.
Satvat previously was Business Development Director at Tencent Games and founded Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), a resource for job seekers in the gaming sector. He expressed a desire to directly help people return to work and to support smaller studios. Lasse Seppänen announced his departure from Supercell after seven years, during which he progressed from producer in 2019 to Head of Game Production Services and General Manager for Supercell London. He plans to launch his own studio in the UK in 2027.
Take‑Two Interactive appointed Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs UK, after serving as Head of Public Affairs UK at TikTok. Jess Pearce was promoted to Senior People Partner at Kepler Interactive, having joined as a People Advisor in 2022 and moved to People Partner in 2024. Shreya Godha advanced to Producer at PlaySimple Games, after previously serving as Associate Producer.
Epic Games named Kelly Ekins Director of Communications. Ekins previously held the role of Senior Director of Global PR for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program, and before that led media and entertainment marketing at Unity following a stint at Warner Brothers Games Montreal. Housemarque co‑founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen stepped down after 31 years. Kuittinen co‑founded the studio in 1995 after merging Bloodhouse and Terramarque.
He praised the company’s independent spirit and noted that Sami “Haxu” Hakala has taken over as Managing Director, ensuring continuity. Tamara Feiman was appointed CEO of Tripledot Studios’ Lion Studios. Feiman began at Lion in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead, later becoming Publishing General Manager. She emphasized the collaborative culture and the studio’s focus on partnering with external developers to bring games to millions of players.
Heather Sangria joined Sega of America as Community Manager, after contract work as a social strategist at One More Game and a digital strategy/community role at Undead Labs. Emily Rose Chen was promoted to Senior Product Manager for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard, having started as a financial analyst in 2020 and later moving into product management. Scot McCarron advanced to Senior Director of Product Management for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard, after serving as Director of Product Management on the franchise and joining the company in 2018 as a product marketing manager for emerging franchises.
These appointments and promotions illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the games industry, highlighting both the infusion of fresh expertise and the recognition of long‑term contributors who continue to shape the future of interactive entertainment.