Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that gather all the noteworthy moves in one place. If your organization has recent staffing changes that belong in this list, please forward the names, new titles, companies, as well as previous positions and employers to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Fandom has bolstered its senior leadership with three high‑profile appointments and has also promoted a long‑standing veteran.
Anita Butler steps into the role of Senior Vice President of Design & User Research. Butler brings a rich background, having previously served as Executive Vice President of Design and Research at Nextdoor, as Vice President of Consumer Design at Twitter, and as Chief Design Officer at Strava. Damon Sicore joins Fandom as Chief Technology Officer and head of Fandom Labs; his résumé includes senior engineering leadership at both Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he oversaw the teams responsible for Firefox, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Peter Scanlon has been named Chief Marketing Officer, adding to his extensive executive experience at Google, Mozilla and Monks.
In parallel, Daniel Grunwell, a fifteen‑year Fandom veteran, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Engineering. In his new capacity, Grunwell will direct the engineering and infrastructure organization, ensuring the platform’s scalability and reliability as the community continues to expand.
"Fandom rests on an extraordinary foundation—millions of fans who have spent years curating knowledge and building communities around the things they love," said CEO Jay Sullivan. "Our mission is to deepen that connection, giving fans more ways to discover, interact, and contribute.
Daniel’s deep institutional knowledge, combined with the fresh perspectives and consumer‑platform expertise that Damon, Peter and Anita bring, gives us the right mix to create the next generation of Fandom experiences." Other notable moves in September include Jonathan Knight’s appointment as Chief Games Officer at The New York Times, where he will oversee the newspaper’s expanding gaming portfolio after previously serving as Senior Vice President and head of games, a role in which he led the acquisition and integration of the wildly popular Wordle. Chase Shi returns to Scopely as Vice President and Head of Game Product. Shi originally left Scopely in 2020 after serving as a senior product manager; he then held a director role at Jam City before moving to Blizzard Entertainment, where he directed product management for Diablo. His return signals Scopely’s intent to leverage his cross‑studio experience.
Jonathan Marcelino has been named Director of Product at Scopely, after founding and serving as CEO of the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games. Berkay Özer steps into the Head of Studio position at Fomo Games, having progressed from product specialist to product team lead within the company before a brief stint at Loom Games. Peter Sydow joins Arrowhead Game Studios as Head of Production, bringing senior producing experience from Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions.
Ryan Ngoon receives a promotion to Game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment after starting as a quest‑design intern in 2023 and moving to associate game designer in 2024. Sarah Johnson becomes an Art Producer at Epic Games, adding to her portfolio of producer roles at Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13, and Telltale Games. Brian Trunk is 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, most recently as Vice President of Commercial, Digital Games Revenue, and the Wizards Play Network, and earlier as VP/GM for 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 merge with a shared love of games, making this move deeply personal." Rovio promotes Wille Miljas to Director of Product Marketing. Miljas, who joined the company in 2024 as a 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 names Jameson Durall Senior Design Director on the upcoming title Blight: Survival. Durall comes from Insomniac Games, where he was an advanced senior game designer on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2.
Matt Dobill ascends to Director of Applied AI at Epic Games, while also acting as Senior Counsel on technology and tools. Joe Gabriel joins Unity as Senior Technical Production Manager for AndroidXR, after leading customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and serving as Senior Developer Relations Manager at Niantic.
Erik Meurk is promoted to Senior Software Engineer at King, having started as a Unity development intern in 2023 and progressing to associate software engineer in early 2024. Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé becomes Lead UX Designer at Epic Games, after joining as a senior UX designer in 2023 from Behaviour Interactive. Jack Anderson signs on with Rebellion as a VFX Artist, following similar roles at nDreams and Interior/Night.
David Scarborough joins Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Manager of EMEA Communications, after senior account and communications positions at Brands2Life, Inflexion Games, Improbable, and Koch Media/Deep Silver. King welcomes Esther Lopez as Principal VFX Artist. Lopez originally joined King in 2014, rose to associate principal VFX artist in 2020, then spent two years at Meta developing real‑time VFX for VR/AR before returning to her roots at King. Magda Marcinkowska becomes Production Manager, Marketing at CD Projekt Red, after serving as Acting Publishing Operations Director at Techland.
Linh Lai is hired as Accounting Assistant at Newzoo following a six‑month internship, expressing enthusiasm for deeper involvement in finance processes. Tommi Virolainen joins Kokoon Games as Senior Game Programmer, after technical programming work at Metacore and senior programming roles at Lightneer. Christopher Holtorf is appointed Senior Quest Designer at CD Projekt Red, previously senior narrative designer at Intrepid Studios. Amir Satvat becomes General Partner at 1Up Ventures, after serving as Business Development Director at Tencent Games and founding the community‑focused initiative Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC).
He emphasized his desire to help people find jobs in the industry and to support smaller studios. Lasse Seppänen announces his departure from Supercell after seven years, during which he progressed from producer 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 appoints Giles Derrington as Director of Global Affairs, UK, after leading public affairs at TikTok. Jess Pearce is promoted to Senior People Partner at Kepler Interactive, having joined as a People Advisor in 2022.
Shreya Godha moves up to Producer at PlaySimple Games, after previously serving as Associate Producer. Kelly Ekins becomes Director of Communications at Epic Games, following senior global PR leadership at Unity and earlier marketing work at Warner Brothers Games Montreal.
Housemarque co‑founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen steps down after 31 years, handing the reins to Sami “Haxu” Hakala. Kuittinen reflected on three decades of growth, independence, and the recent integration into PlayStation Studios. Tamara Feiman is named CEO of Lion Studios, the publishing arm of Tripledot Studios.
Feiman, who began at Lion in 2020 as EMEA Business Development Lead, highlighted the collaborative culture that turns bold ideas into games played by millions. Heather Sangria joins Sega of America as Community Manager, after contract social‑strategy work at One More Game and community roles at Undead Labs. Emily Rose Chen is promoted to Senior Product Manager for Call of Duty at Activision Blizzard, having risen from financial analyst to product manager since 2020.
Scot McCarron also receives a promotion, becoming Senior Director of Product Management for Call of Duty, after joining Activision in 2018 as a product marketing manager for emerging franchises. These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of the games industry, where talent moves across studios, bringing fresh ideas and deep expertise that shape the future of interactive entertainment.