September 2026 Jobs Roundup – Fandom Grows Its Executive Team

Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions and departures across the games sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most notable moves. If you know of any leadership changes or new appointments that belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, company, and previous role to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. In this edition, Fandom announced three senior appointments to its executive leadership roster and also promoted a long‑time veteran, while a host of other companies disclosed a variety of senior hires and internal advancements. **Fandom’s New Executive Appointments** - **Anita Butler – Senior Vice President, Design & User Research** Butler joins Fandom after a distinguished career shaping product experiences at major consumer platforms.

She most recently served as Executive Vice President of Design and Research at Nextdoor, and before that she was Vice President of Consumer Design at Twitter and Chief Design Officer at Strava. Her background blends community‑focused design thinking with data‑driven research, positioning her to lead Fandom’s efforts to deepen fan engagement through better UI/UX and insight‑led product development. - **Damon Sicore – Chief Technology Officer & Head of Fandom Labs** Sicore arrives from the open‑source world, having held senior engineering leadership roles at both Wikipedia and Mozilla.

At Mozilla he oversaw the teams responsible for the core web technologies that power Firefox, including HTML, JavaScript and CSS. His expertise in scalable web architecture and open‑source collaboration is expected to accelerate Fandom’s platform modernization and experimental lab initiatives. - **Peter Scanlon – Chief Marketing Officer** Scanlon brings a wealth of brand‑building experience from his tenures at Google, Mozilla and the gaming studio Monks. Known for crafting data‑centric, community‑first marketing strategies, he will steer Fandom’s global marketing, partnership, and growth programs.

- **Daniel Grunwell – Senior Vice President of Engineering** A fifteen‑year veteran of Fandom, Grunwell is promoted to oversee the engineering and infrastructure organization. His deep institutional knowledge of Fandom’s tech stack and culture makes him a natural fit to guide the next phase of platform reliability, performance, and innovation. Jay Sullivan, CEO of Fandom, summed up the moves: “Fandom sits on an incredible foundation – millions of fans who have spent years building knowledge and communities around the things they love. Our opportunity is to build on that and give fans even more ways to connect, discover and participate.

Daniel’s long tenure at Fandom brings a deep understanding of our roots and what makes our communities special, while Damon, Pete 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 Appointments Across the Industry** - **Jonathan Knight – Chief Games Officer, The New York Times** Knight, formerly Senior Vice President and head of games at The Times, led the acquisition and integration of the viral puzzle phenomenon Wordle. He will now steer the newspaper’s broader gaming strategy, expanding interactive content for its readership.

- **Chase Shi – Vice President, Head of Game Product, Scopely** Shi returns to Scopely after a stint at Jam City and Blizzard Entertainment, where he directed product management for titles such as Diablo. His experience spans mobile, live‑ops, and AAA ecosystems, positioning him to drive Scopely’s next wave of live‑service games. - **Jonathan Marcelino – Director of Product, Scopely** Marcelino, the founder and former CEO of hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games, joins Scopely to lead product strategy and execution for its expanding portfolio.

- **Berkay Özer – Head of Studio, Fomo Games** Özer, who progressed from product specialist to product team lead at Fomo before a brief tenure at Loom Games, now returns to head the studio, bringing a strong focus on user‑centric product pipelines. - **Peter Sydow – Head of Production, Arrowhead Game Studios** Sydow, a seasoned senior producer from Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions, takes charge of production at Arrowhead, known for titles like *Helldivers*. - **Ryan Ngoon – Game Designer, Blizzard Entertainment** Starting as a quest‑design intern in 2023, Ngoon advanced to associate game designer in 2024 and now holds a full designer role, contributing to Blizzard’s evolving live‑service experiences. - **Sarah Johnson – Art Producer, Epic Games** Johnson adds her extensive production background from Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13 and Telltale Games to Epic’s art pipelines, supporting the creation of next‑gen visual content.

- **Brian Trunk – Senior Vice President, Route to Market – Americas, Asmodee** After more than a decade as a partner at Asmodee and a 17‑year career at Wizards of the Coast—including VP of Commercial, Digital Games Revenue and the Wizards Play Network—Trunk steps into a senior commercial leadership role at Asmodee, emphasizing his belief that strong relationships and community are the bedrock of successful game businesses. - **Wille Miljas – Director of Product Marketing, Rovio** Miljas, who joined Rovio in 2024 as marketing lead and previously headed marketing at Good Shepherd Entertainment and Redhill Games, now leads product marketing, shaping how new titles reach global audiences. - **Jameson Durall – Senior Design Director, Behaviour Interactive (Blight: Survival)** Durall, formerly an advanced senior game designer on *Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2* at Insomniac Games, takes a senior design role on Behaviour’s upcoming survival title. - **Matt Dobill – Director of Applied AI, Epic Games** In addition to his senior counsel duties on technology and tools, Dobill now heads Epic’s applied AI initiatives, driving innovations that blend machine learning with game development pipelines.

- **Joe Gabriel – Senior Technical Production Manager, AndroidXR, Unity** Gabriel, who previously led customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and served as senior developer relations manager at Niantic, now focuses on Unity’s Android XR production, supporting creators building immersive experiences. - **Erik Meurk – Senior Software Engineer, King** Rising from a Unity developer internship in 2023 to associate software engineer in early 2024, Meurk now holds a senior engineering position, contributing to King’s flagship mobile titles. - **Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé – Lead UX Designer, Epic Games** Grandchamp‑Dubé, promoted after joining Epic in 2023 as a senior UX designer (previously at Behaviour Interactive), now leads user‑experience design across Epic’s ecosystem, ensuring intuitive player interactions.

- **Jack Anderson – VFX Artist, Rebellion** Anderson moves from VFX roles at nDreams and Interior/Night to Rebellion, where he will craft visual effects for upcoming titles. - **David Scarborough – Senior Manager, EMEA Communications, Blizzard Entertainment** Scarborough, with prior senior account and communications leadership at Brands2Life, Inflexion Games, Improbable and Koch Media/Deep Silver, now oversees Blizzard’s communications strategy across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. - **Esther Lopez – Principal VFX Artist, King** After a decade of progressive roles at King and a recent stint at Meta developing real‑time VR‑AR VFX, Lopez returns to King as a principal artist, bringing immersive experience expertise back to the company that launched her career.

- **Magda Marcinkowska – Production Manager, Marketing, CD Projekt Red** Marcinkowska, formerly acting publishing operations director at Techland, now manages production for CD Projekt Red’s marketing initiatives, supporting the launch of high‑profile titles. - **Linh Lai – Accounting Assistant, Newzoo** Following a six‑month internship, Lai steps into a full‑time accounting role, eager to deepen her financial acumen and improve process efficiency within Newzoo’s finance team.

- **Tommi Virolainen – Senior Game Programmer, Kokoon Games** Virolainen, who previously programmed at Metacore and held senior development roles at Lightneer, now contributes his technical expertise to Kokoon’s upcoming projects. - **Christopher Holtorf – Senior Quest Designer, CD Projekt Red** Holtorf, previously senior narrative designer at Intrepid Studios, now crafts quest lines and story experiences for CD Projekt Red’s next releases. - **Amir Satvat – General Partner, 1Up Ventures** Satvat, formerly business development director at Tencent Games and founder of the community‑focused job‑resource ASGC, joins 1Up Ventures to help early‑stage studios secure funding and build sustainable businesses.

He emphasizes his desire to connect talent with opportunity and to champion a community‑first investment approach. - **Lasse Seppänen – Departing Supercell** After seven years—including roles as head of game production services and GM of Supercell London—Seppänen announces his exit to pursue new IP creation, with plans to launch his own studio in the UK by 2027. - **Giles Derrington – Director of Global Affairs, UK, Take‑Two Interactive** Derrington, who previously led public affairs for TikTok in the UK, now heads Take‑Two’s governmental and regulatory engagement in the region. - **Jess Pearce – Senior People Partner, Kepler Interactive** Promoted from people advisor (2022) to senior partner, Pearce now shapes talent strategy for Kepler’s growing portfolio of independent studios.

- **Shreya Godha – Producer, PlaySimple Games** Godha advances from associate producer to full producer, overseeing the delivery of PlaySimple’s casual titles. - **Kelly Ekins – Director of Communications, Epic Games** Ekins, formerly senior director of global PR for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program, now leads Epic’s communications, leveraging her experience at Warner Brothers Games Montreal and Unity to amplify Epic’s brand. - **Ilari Kuittinen – Stepping Down as Managing Director, Housemarque** After co‑founding Housemarque in 1995 and guiding it through three decades of independence before its integration into PlayStation Studios, Kuittinen announces his departure.

He notes the careful transition that placed Sami “Haxu” Hakala in the managing director role on July 1, ensuring continuity for the studio’s creative vision. - **Tamara Feiman – CEO, Lion Studios (Tripledot Studios)** Feiman, who began at Lion in 2020 as EMEA business development lead and later became publishing general manager, now assumes the chief executive role. She highlights the collaborative partnership model that has enabled Lion’s games to reach millions worldwide. - **Heather Sangria – Community Manager, Sega of America** Sangria, previously a contract social strategist at One More Game and digital strategy lead at Undead Labs, joins Sega to nurture community engagement across its diverse portfolio.

- **Emily Rose Chen – Senior Product Manager, Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard** Chen, who entered Activision as a financial analyst in 2020 and later moved into product management, now leads senior product initiatives for the flagship Call of Duty franchise. - **Scot McCarron – Senior Director of Product Management, Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard** McCarron, promoted from director of product management after joining in 2018 as product marketing manager for emerging franchises, now oversees senior product strategy for Call of Duty.

These movements illustrate the dynamic nature of talent flow in the gaming ecosystem, where seasoned veterans and fresh leaders alike shape the future of interactive entertainment.