Mobile Gaming Industry Hires and Power Shifts – November 2025

Leadership transitions continue to shape the mobile gaming industry, and November 2025 carries that momentum forward. Here’s a rundown of the latest leaders stepping into the spotlight and the changes redefining the respective company’s direction.

Matthieu Burleraux – Vice President, Game Evolution at Rovio Entertainment

Matthieu Burleraux has been promoted to Vice President of Game Evolution at Rovio Entertainment. In this role, he will oversee the ongoing development of Angry Birds Friends and support the growth of Ruby Games, driving innovation and long-term strategy.

Enrico D’Angelo – Chief Business Officer at Roblox

Enrico D’Angelo has stepped into the role of Chief Business Officer at Roblox, marking a new chapter in his seven-year journey with the company. Since joining in 2018, he has held key leadership roles, including VP of Product for both Developer and Economy, where he helped shape Roblox’s thriving digital ecosystem.

Rizgar Baytar – Advertising Monetization Lead at Miniclip

Rizgar Baytar has taken on the role of Advertising Monetization Lead at Miniclip, based in Lisbon. After nearly a year as Senior Advertising Monetization Manager at the company, he now steps up to lead its ad strategy and revenue growth. Before joining Miniclip, Rizgar spent over three years at Rollic in various monetization roles.

Tiger Inho Hwang – Director, webOS Contents Business at LG Electronics

Tiger Inho Hwang has joined LG Electronics as the Director of webOS Contents Business for TV Gaming Platform Partnerships. With 20 years of experience at companies like Mantisco, nWay, Rovio, and Neowiz, he brings strong industry knowledge. At LG, he will focus on building key partnerships to grow gaming on webOS. He previously led partnerships and business development at Devsisters.

Stijn Tops – General Manager, Stumble Guys at Scopely

Stijn Tops has joined Scopely in Barcelona as the General Manager for Stumble Guys, bringing strong expertise in live operations and monetization. Before this, he led Live Ops & Monetization at Supercell, helping grow game performance and player experience. He also worked at Google in gaming and apps strategy, and has over a decade of industry experience.

Mikkel Weider – Group CEO at Everplay Group plc

Mikkel Weider has been appointed Group CEO and Board member at Everplay Group plc, effective 1 January 2026. He brings strong leadership and M&A experience from roles at Nordisk Games and several gaming companies. Everplay’s leadership says his background and vision make him a great fit for the company’s future.

Daniel Secker – Vice President of Technology and Operations at Secret Mode

Daniel Secker has joined Secret Mode as the Vice President of Technology and Operations. He brings over 17 years of experience from Sumo Digital, where he grew from Programmer to multiple leadership roles. His background includes leading engineering, business operations, and technology partnerships. At Secret Mode, he will guide technology and operations to support the studio’s growing portfolio.

Miha Obal – Senior Vice President, Technology and Business Operations at Outfit7

Miha Obal has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Technology and Business Operations at Outfit7. He has been with the company since 2013, growing from Senior Director of QA to multiple VP roles. Miha will now oversee both technology development and operational strategy across the company.

Heini Kaihu – SVP, Portfolio & Player Excellence at Rovio Entertainment

Heini Kaihu has been promoted to SVP of Portfolio & Player Excellence at Rovio Entertainment. She will focus on strengthening Rovio’s game portfolio and ensuring a player-first approach across teams. Heini brings over 25 years of experience and has held roles including Head of Studio and Chief Sustainability Officer.

Rachel Rakowski – Leading Global Esports for Clash of Clans at Supercell

Rachel Rakowski has joined Supercell to lead the global esports program for Clash of Clans. She brings years of experience along with a long personal history with the game. In this role, she aims to build an esports structure that reflects the passion and dedication of the CoC community.

Ali Farha – Associate at Behold Ventures

Ali Farha has joined Behold Ventures as an Associate at the leading Nordic gaming VC. He will support fundraising, portfolio growth, and broader strategic initiatives. Ali also brings strong industry insight as one of the most recognized gaming voices in Sweden.

Petri Hyökyranta – Chief Technology Officer at Metacore

Petri Hyökyranta has been appointed as the new CTO at Metacore after serving as Interim CTO. With months of leadership already guiding the company in an interim position, he now steps fully into shaping Metacore’s long-term technology vision.

Daniel Lindkvist – Head of Engineering at Metacore

Daniel Lindkvist has joined Metacore as the Head of Engineering. Daniel spent over 12 years at King, most recently serving as Senior Technical Director for Candy Crush Soda Saga. In this role, he drove the game’s tech strategy, guided multiple tech teams, and supported everything from product ideation to live operations.

Jennifer Poulson – Senior Director, Franchise Strategy & Marketing at EA SPORTS

Jennifer Poulson has joined Electronic Arts as Senior Director of Franchise Strategy & Marketing for EA SPORTS. She will oversee the NHL, UFC, and F1 franchises and is eager to contribute to EA’s evolving vision for sports fandom.

Shawn Kittelsen – SVP, Head of Creative & Production at Paramount Games

Shawn Kittelsen has taken on the role of SVP, Head of Creative & Production at Paramount Games, where he now oversees major titles tied to brands like Marvel, SpongeBob, TMNT, and Star Trek. His past leadership roles include being Vice Precident at Skydance and Skybound.

Izel Puza – Senior User Acquisition Manager at Voodoo

Izel Puza has stepped into her new role as Senior User Acquisition Manager at Voodoo after a strong three-year run at Homa, where she led growth for the Casual Puzzle unit. Her background includes launching hit titles like Attack Hole and strengthening UA strategies across multiple teams.

Wendy Tan – Director, HR Business Partner (APAC) at Riot Games

Wendy Tan has joined Riot Games as Director, HR Business Partner for APAC. She brings deep experience in people strategy and looks forward to supporting Riot’s teams and culture across the region.

Lawrence Koh – SVP & General Manager at Scopely

Lawrence Koh has joined Scopely as SVP & GM after five years leading EA SPORTS FC Mobile. He now steps into a key leadership role where he will guide the development of new games at the company.

Solmaz Yilancioglu – Senior Manager, User Acquisition at Zynga

Solmaz Yilancioglu has joined Zynga as Senior Manager of User Acquisition, bringing years of experience across Sandsoft, Unity, Gameloft, and Playtika. She has worked on growth operations, ASO, partner management, and large-scale UA strategies across global markets.

Veli-Pekka Piirainen – Chief Executive Officer at Critical Force

Veli-Pekka Piirainen has returned as CEO of Critical Force after three years. With former CEO Miikka Lehtonen moving to Chief Product Officer, Veli-Pekka resumes leadership to guide the studio’s next chapter.