Leadership shifts remain a key theme in the mobile gaming world, and August 2025 is no exception. With several major appointments and high-profile moves, the month has once again reshaped the executive landscape. Here’s a comprehensive look at the industry’s latest power players and where they’re headed next.
Thomas Peng – Director of Product at Scopely
Thomas Peng has joined Scopely as the Director of Product for the Slate Development Group, bringing a wealth of experience from top gaming companies. He previously held key roles at NetEase Games, Respawn Entertainment, and Tencent, contributing to the strategy and launch of successful global titles.
Jaehoon Choi – Country Manager for Korea at RTB House
Jaehoon Choi has joined RTB House as the new Country Manager for Korea, where he will lead operations and drive growth in the Korean market. He brings a solid background in business development and market expansion from previous leadership roles in the industry.
Dawnesh Mistry – Senior Vice President of Strategy at Jagex
Dawnesh Mistry has joined Jagex as Senior Vice President of Strategy. He brings deep experience from his previous roles at Huuuge Games, where he led mergers, acquisitions, and internal strategic initiatives, and from his time in Citigroup’s TMT investment banking team, where he contributed to major transactions, including the Playtika IPO.
Claire Rozain – Advisor at Maliyo Games
Maliyo Games has appointed Claire Rozain as Advisor. With experience at Rovio, Match Group, and her own consultancy RZAIN, Rozain will support Maliyo in scaling globally and developing African games for international audiences.
Loni Clark – Director of Integrated Planning and Portfolio Operations at Marvel Games, Disney
Loni Clark has joined The Walt Disney Company as Director of Integrated Planning and Portfolio Operations, where she will oversee Marvel Games. With strong experience in project management and strategic operations, she is well-equipped to coordinate complex creative teams and portfolios.
Fasieh Mehta – Industry Head, Large Customer Sales (Mobile Apps & Gaming) at Google Pakistan
Fasieh Mehta is now part of Google as the Industry Head for Large Customer Sales – Mobile Apps and Gaming in Pakistan, operating from the APAC HQ in Singapore. With over 20 years of experience, he previously led Unreal Engine adoption at Epic Games across the MENAPT region and played a key role in Quixel’s merger into Epic.
Sohaib Thiab – Chief Product Officer at Tamatem Games
Sohaib Thiab has joined Tamatem Games as Chief Product Officer, bringing product leadership experience from his previous role at Eneco. At Tamatem, he will focus on launching innovative games for the Arabic market and expanding the studio’s fintech offerings through Tamatem Plus.
Osiel Gómez – Chief Operating Officer at HyperBeard
Osiel Gómez has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer at HyperBeard, following his work as Studio Co-Head and Chief Experience Officer. He has played a key role in improving user experience and maintaining high product quality across the studio’s titles.
Duc Le – CEO of Bravestars Games
Bravestars Games has appointed Duc Le as its new CEO, recognizing his strong leadership and proven track record in business growth. Since joining the company in 2019 as a Business Analyst, he has played a key role in shaping product strategy and expanding market reach. Most recently serving as Chief Growth Officer, Duc Le now steps into the CEO role to drive Bravestars Games’ growth and innovation in the gaming industry.
Marc De Vellis – EVP & President of Digital Games Creative Centre at Spin Master
Spin Master has promoted Marc De Vellis to Executive Vice President and President of its Digital Games Creative Centre. The company, best known for Paw Patrol and Bakugan, also owns digital game platforms like Toca Boca and PikNik. In his new role, De Vellis will oversee creative direction and growth across Spin Master’s expanding digital games portfolio.
Nadav Moshes – Head of Strategic Platforms & Partnerships at Playtika
Nadav Moshes has been promoted to Head of Strategic Platforms & Partnerships at Playtika, where he will drive platform strategy, strengthen key partnerships, and unlock new growth opportunities. Since joining Playtika in 2021, he has led Competitive Intelligence and Product & Market Insights, transforming data into actionable insights that shaped product development and player experiences.
Simon Hade – New Subjects Expansion at Duolingo
Simon Hade, co-founder of NextBeat, has joined Duolingo as part of its acquisition of the NextBeat team. He will help guide Duolingo’s expansion beyond language learning into broader areas such as math, chess, and music.
Tia Mooney – Senior Technical Program Manager at Duolingo
Tia Mooney joins Duolingo as Senior Technical Program Manager via the acquisition of NextBeat. She will be supporting Duolingo’s mission to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.
Katya Sabirova – Head of PR at SayGames
Katya Sabirova has joined SayGames as Head of PR, bringing her experience from recruitment agency Values Value and the game jobs platform InGameJob, where she served as CEO until July 2025. As a co-founder of InGameJob, she played a significant role in building its presence, and now takes on her latest role in public relations at SayGames.
Rohit Sharma – Executive Director at Nazara
Nazara has appointed Rohit Sharma as Executive Director. With more than 25 years of experience in gaming and digital media, founding POKKT, heading Digital at Reliance ADA, Sharma will support Nazara’s push to expand IP-driven games across multiple platforms and genres.
Simon Sparks – Co-Founder & COO at GameDataCore
Thrival founder Simon Sparks steps into the role of GameDataCore Co-founder and will serve as Chief Operating Officer. His new role will involve supporting the company’s focus on leveraging data for global games development.
Shashikiran R – Product Manager at Krafton India
Krafton India has hired Shashikiran R as Product Manager. With prior experience in Casual, Puzzle, Match-3, and Board games at SuperGaming, Super Huge Studios, and most recently holding the role of Product Manager at Jetapult, he will now focus on new projects for Krafton’s mobile portfolio.
Maurice K. – Director of Data and Analytics at Ubisoft
Maurice K. has joined Ubisoft as the Director of Data and Analytics, where he will lead global initiatives to strengthen the company’s use of player, platform, and business insights. With prior leadership roles at EA and Activision Blizzard, he has been instrumental in building advanced analytics frameworks, enhancing player engagement, and shaping data-driven strategies.
Drussila Hollanda – Head of New Games at Supercell
Supercell has appointed Drussila Hollanda as its first Head of New Games, a newly created leadership role reporting directly to CEO Ilkka Paananen. Her mission will be to make Supercell the best place for independent teams to create innovative and groundbreaking games.
Benjie Clarke – Senior Vice President of Business Development at Aonic
Aonic has appointed Benjie Clarke as Senior Vice President of Business Development. Clarke will lead global commercial and partnership strategy, including third-party content acquisition, alongside Aonic’s head of games Arthur Mostovoy. He previously worked as Managing Director of Global Publishing at Megabit.
Sharon Fisher – Trust & Safety Strategy at Scopely
Sharon Fisher has joined Scopely, where she will focus on Trust & Safety strategy, AI integration, and team enablement. In her new role, she will support the Monopoly GO! team, contributing to the game’s ongoing growth and enhancing the player experience. Fisher brings over a decade of industry expertise, having most recently served as Global Head of Trust & Safety at Keywords Studios for more than three years.
Warren Spector – Board of Directors at Take This
Games industry veteran Warren Spector has joined the board of directors at mental health nonprofit Take This. Spector will help guide the organisation’s advocacy efforts and support initiatives for mental health awareness within the games industry. He is the co-founder and CCO of Aonic’s OtherSide Entertainment.
Nate Dykstra – Director of Business Development, Digital Games Licensing at Mattel
Mattel has promoted Nate Dykstra to Director of Business Development, Digital Games Licensing. After more than two years at the company, he will now lead new opportunities in digital licensing for Mattel’s games portfolio.
Antti Kananen – Investor and Advisor at Northern Lights Entertainment
Antti Kananen has joined Northern Lights Entertainment as an investor and advisor. He will support the studio’s work on political MMOs, contributing to the studio in its journey at the intersection of political fantasies and games
Ariel Navon – Senior Product and Market Insights Manager at Playtika
Playtika has promoted Ariel Navon to Senior Product and Market Insights Manager. As part of the role, he will lead the Competitive Intelligence efforts across the company. He was the Competitive Intelligence Manager
for three years before heading this role.
Elif Doğanay – People and Culture Manager at Vertigo Games
Vertigo Games has hired Elif Doğanay as People and Culture Manager to support its team expansion. Doğanay previously worked at SevenApps, where she was the People & Culture Lead.
Mickey Adler – Senior Business Development Manager at Appcharge
Mickey Adler has joined Appcharge as Senior Business Development Manager, helping expand the company’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) efforts. He took the role following his work at Stash, where he served as Sales and Partnerships Manager.
Mike Gullo – Business Development Manager, Content Acquisition at Google
Google has hired Mike Gullo as Business Development Manager for Content Acquisition. He will focus on bringing great games to Play surfaces, drawing on his background at Backbone, Sensor Tower, WB Games, and other industry roles.
Roman Ismagilov – Director of Business Development at Hypercell Games
Hypercell Games has hired Roman Ismagilov as Director of Business Development. With over a decade of experience at Joyteractive, Playgendary, TAPCLAP, and EVA Studio, he has led business development and strategic partnerships that drove growth and delivered top-ranking games across platforms. At Hypercell Games, he will focus on driving expansion and building new partnerships.
Erik Hittenhausen – Vice President, Global Leader of Client Services at GlobalStep
GlobalStep has appointed Erik Hittenhausen as Vice President and Global Leader of Client Services. He previously served as Chief Service Officer at Testronic, where he oversaw game services delivery and drove continuous improvements. With his extensive expertise and client-focused approach, he is set to strengthen GlobalStep’s service leadership.
Michael de Plater – Studio Head and Game Director at Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast has appointed Michael de Plater as Studio Head and Game Director, bringing decades of industry experience. He previously led teams at Monolith Productions as VP, Creative on Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Shadow of Mordor, and held senior roles at Ubisoft, EA, and Creative Assembly.
Learn more about the industry hires and power shifts this year:
