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MOVERS AND SHAKERS This month: CCP Games, King, GamesAnalytics and Flaunt Productions
CCP GAMES Dust 514 maker CCP Games has hired long-time Battlefield producer JEAN- CHARLES GAUDECHONas executive producer
for its free-to-play PS3 shooter. Gaudechon’s role will be to drive
future development of the persistent- world FPS at CCP’s Shanghai studio. Gaudechon brings ample experience with online and free-to-play games from his time at EA in Stockholm, where he oversaw the development and service of Battlefield: Play4Free and Battlefield Heroes, expanding the franchise into the free-to-play realm. Prior to that, Gaudechon led the development and launch of EA’s online racing MMO Need for Speed World. “The scope and vision of Dust 514, and
its integration into the massive Eve Online universe is unparalleled, creating the largest, single-shard online multiplayer game to date,” said Gaudechon. “I look forward to my journey with CCP as we push the boundaries even farther.” Sean Decker, SVP of product
development at CCP, added: “In addition to his extensive experience in the free-to- play space, Jean-Charles brings a tremendous sense of product vision and creativity to Dust 514. His track record will serve the growth of Dust 514 very well.”
KING Candy Crush creator King has appointed two new senior staff in another step to expand its business. HOPE COCHRAN(above left) is the casual gaming firm’s new chief financial officer, while CIARA SMYTH(above right) becomes its new chief people officer. Cochran previously worked at
telecoms operator Clearwire in a similar role, and has previously worked at companies such as Deloitte and Touche. Cochran said: “I am excited to be able
to join King and the team at this point in its journey. King has had a long track record of success and I look forward to embarking on this next phase.” Smyth will be responsible for leading all human resource activities, including performance management, recruitment, retention, training and development. She will join King at the end of
October, after serving as executive VP of human resources for Zipcar, one of the pioneers in car sharing. “I am thrilled to be joining King, a
company with a uniquely collaborative culture and strong commitment to the development of its employees at every
level,” said Smyth. “I look forward to working closely with the team to continue to make King a great place to work and preserve its strong culture.” King CEO Riccardo Zacconi said: “Ciara
is a great addition to the King team. Our talent is a huge strength – we’re committed to attracting and retaining the best people in the industry and helping them to build successful careers.”
GAMESANALYTICS Scottish analytics firm GamesAnalytics has appointed KEITH ADAIR as its head of business development for EMEA.
Adair will be responsible for
developing the firm’s growing portfolio of publisher and developer clients across these regions, as well as its push across the games and gambling sectors. “It’s an exciting time to be joining
GamesAnalytics as the games industry re-orientates itself around new platforms and business models and significantly, where the power of analytics to leverage big data and help understand player behaviours is vital for games publishers and developers to succeed,” said Adair. He joins GamesAnalytics from mobile publishing and distribution firm
Iplay.com, where he spent ten years working with publishers, platform
owners and network operators brokering major distribution deals for games IPs, including EA Sports’ FIFA and Tiger Woods, as well as The Fast and Furious, Moto GP and Metal Slug.
FLAUNT Glasgow animation house Flaunt Productions, which has produced work for Ages of Empires and LEGO Harry Potter, has appointed ANDREW
PEARCEas executive producer as it looks to reach new clients. At Flaunt, Pearce will focus on building
relationships with developers and publishers of casual and handheld titles. He told Develop: “My background is in
branding and advertising, so I’m very aware of the importance of a powerful identity in a time of flux. Our job is to create iconic animated content that complements the awesome work that our clients produce.” Pearce produced at sister company Axis Animation for three years before moving to Flaunt. Richard Scott co-founder and
managing director at Axis Animation added: “Andrew has been doing great work as part of Axis and his design, branding and games knowledge will make him invaluable to Flaunt’s video game clients.”
Services & Tech Recruiter Hot Seat VR is hot right now, and Oculus is the reason. Its VP of product Nate Mitchell explains what a career at the firm offers
What makes Oculus VR different from other games tech companies? Oculus is building the world’s best consumer virtual reality platform. It’s a highly cross-discipline team developing software, hardware and products that we believe will revolutionise the way people live, learn, work and play. This is an opportunity to join a truly unique start-up, working with incredibly smart engineers on innovative, consumer-facing technologies that are set to change the world.
What benefits do you offer your employees at Oculus? Aside from working with some of the best and brightest minds to build the Metaverse. We strive to empower, appreciate and have fun. We offer
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competitive salaries and stock options, great health care, dental and vision coverage for employees and families, access to cutting-edge hardware, catered lunches and dinners, an on-site gym membership and a free Oculus Rift.
What disciplines are you in need of? We’re looking for high calibre talent, especially top notch software engineers and technical leads for a wide variety of projects and challenges, including core tech, computer vision, robotics, graphics, 3D engine development, tools and even content development. We’re also in need of more great
web services and infrastructure engineers to help build out the platform, which will bring Oculus users together from around the world.
And we’re always searching for the
very best hardware, industrial, mechanical and electrical engineers to help push the boundaries of what’s possible by building new creative technologies designed for virtual reality.
What opportunities are there for career progression? We believe great employees do their best when they’re given significant ownership, leadership and responsibility. Challenged, but also able to share in the success, especially when working with a talented team on a product that changes the world. This is one of those rare opportunities.
Why should perspective employees choose a career in hardware? There’s something very special about creating a consumer product that
people around the world physically interact with, especially when it’s powered by innovative software and a great user experience. We’re trying to build one of the best places in the world to work. Come help us.
www.oculusvr.com
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