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IGDA officially appoints Jen MacLean executive director

Emily Greer and Zoe Bell join board; Vesa Raudasoja selected as vice-chair

Jen MacLean has been formalised into the role of executive director for the International Game Developers Association after having taken on the interim position nearly six month ago.

Also joining MacLean on the board of directors is Kongregate CEO Emily Greer, and Big Huge Games lead producer Zoe Bell. Vesa Raudasoja, who was elected to the board in 2016, is stepping into the role of vice-chair.

According to a statement released by the IGDA, MacLean's focus during her term as director is to grow the organisation into one which "empowers developers from all walks of life and corners of the globe". She will unveil the IGDA's major initiatives in support of this goal at GDC.

"Jen MacLean has a powerful vision for the IGDA and what it can do to make a difference in the lives of its members all over the globe," said David Stelzer, chair of the board of directors.

"Bolstered by Vesa's dedication to the international community, Emily's experience in growing a successful business and providing support to independent developers, and Zoe's passion for making game development sustainable for families, Jen will lead the IGDA as it supports game developers around the world in improving their personal and professional lives."

MacLean served as managing director at the IGDA foundation for more than a year before accepting responsibility interim executive director. She has over two decades experience working in the industry, including positions as vice president and general manager of games at Comcast, CEO of 38 Studios, and president of StoryArc Media.

Emily Greer co-founded Kongregate in 2006 and took over as CEO in February 2014. From there she oversaw its rise as a publisher, and was this year recognised in the GamesIndustry.biz People of the Year awards for her work at the company.

Fellow board member Zoe Bell began her career as a primary producer for one of Zynga's earlier successes, FrontierVille. After several years spent in game production at Zynga and DeNA, she transitioned to external games production with Kongregate, working on mobile titles such as The Trail, BattleHand and AdVenture Capitalist.

Having led the Finnish arm of IGDA for more than ten years, Vesa Raudasoja will now take on the role of vice-chair in the wider organisation. Raudasoja is a game consultant and community developer currently working in game business development on an EU project with Cursor and the Playa Game Industry Hub.

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Ivy Taylor

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Ivy joined GamesIndustry.biz in 2017 having previously worked as a regional journalist, and a political campaigns manager before that. They are also one of the UK's foremost Sonic the Hedgehog apologists.