Jobs roundup: Glu names Nick Earl CEO

It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we've decided to start compiling them in semi-regular round-ups. If you have new appointments or transitions in your company that belong here, please get in touch.

Nick Earl takes over at Glu Mobile - As part of its Q3 fiscal report, Glu revealed that Nick Earl, previously Glu's President of Global Studios, has been appointed as the new chief executive officer, replacing Niccolo de Masi, who will transition to Executive Chairman. Earl previously served as President of Worldwide Studios at Kabam and in roles at EA, including Senior Vice President of EA Mobile. For de Masi, the former CEO will now focus on "enhancing the Company's long-term growth plan, including strategic acquisition planning and maximizing celebrity relationships." He added, "Nick is a video game industry veteran with a proven track record of creating hit games and I am confident in his ability to lead Glu in the future."

Cubic Motion expands team - Facial animation company Cubic Motion, which has worked on triple-A titles like Batman: Arkham Knight, Battlefield 4 and more, has added The Foundry's Bill Collis to its advisory board and Jane Haslam has joined to lead the productization of the company's real-time technology. Collis, President and Board Member at The Foundry, is a Scientific and Technical Award Winner from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for technology contributions to film. He has a wealth of experience in venture capital and private equity funding, intellectual property licensing, mergers and acquisitions and accessing international markets.

Haslam, formerly Senior Vision Scientist at motion capture specialist Vicon, has over 20 years of development experience and a background in algorithmic research for image analysis and computer vision. CEO Gareth Edwards said, "We're delighted to have Dr. Haslam join the team. Jane is a world-class computer vision expert, specializing in model-based algorithms - a concept which lies at the heart of Cubic's R&D. Alongside this expertise is decades of experience delivering industrial-strength solutions to complex problems. Jane's expertise and experience make her ideally positioned to lead our efforts to bring outstanding real-time solutions to wider markets."

Rovio loses one but adds two - As reported by PocketGamer.biz, Patrick Liu, General Manager at Rovio Stockholm, has left his position to join music streaming firm Spotify as Senior Product Owner. Reginaldo Valadares has been promoted from Head of Production to replace Liu. "It's time to pass the Rovio torch to the heavyweight industry studio executive Reginaldo Valadares, who has over 17 years of experience running game studios," said Rovio EVP, Games Wilhelm Taht.

Additionally, Rovio Entertainment announced two new senior appointments recently. Antti Viitanen will join as Senior Vice President, Studios from the beginning of 2017. He comes from Sulake, where he has been responsible for Sulake's product development and management since 2012. He brings more than 25 years of experience and will guide global studio strategy and the company's studio heads will report to him. Jarkko Rajamäki will also join Rovio as Vice President, Ads, a position he previously held at Rovio from 2010 to 2013. "Antti and Jarkko are rock stars in the mobile games industry and they will play critical roles at Rovio as we carry out ambitious plans to level up our business," added Taht.

Digital Development Management (DDM) hires Stephanie Jorgl - The video game talent agency has appointed her as Senior Business Development Director. She will be based in DDM's San Francisco office, and will focus "on new opportunities in the company's core areas of gaming and entertainment as well as working to expand DDM's business in additional sectors including technology, music, interactive agencies and branding agencies." Jorgl has over 17 years of industry experience and comes to DDM following a four-year stint as Head of Ecosystem at Marmalade Technologies. She was also at Apple where she "helped elevate the cache of Apple website pre-iTunes by partnering with media and entertainment companies to secure music, film, interactive media and extreme sports content for Apple.com."

App Annie has a new chief product officer - The mobile analytics firm has appointed Aaron Mahimainathan to the role. He brings over 20 years of experience in product management and product marketing, having served in executive roles at Telerik Inc, SAP, Siebel Systems and Oracle. At App Annie, he'll be responsible for expanding the firm's mobile app intelligence products. "We continue to evolve our platform to meet the demands of current and future clients as app intelligence becomes even more valuable to all businesses," said Bertrand Schmitt, CEO and co-founder at App Annie. "Aaron's vast leadership experience leading product creation and management, combined with his customer-centric approach, will bring valuable perspective and expertise to App Annie as we ramp up momentum."