It can be difficult keeping track of the various comings and goings in the games industry, which is why we compile them in semi-regular round-ups.
If you have new appointments or transitions in your company that belong here, please send the names of appointees, new role and company, and prior role and company to newhires@gamesindustry.biz.
Mike Wallen | President and main board director, Testronic
QA firm Testronic has appointed Mike Wallen as president and main director.
Wallen was previously chief commercial officer at Keywords, where he held a decade-long tenure.
In his new role at Testronic, Wallen will be “responsible for driving [its] strategic expansion across the Americas” and to work closely with the global leadership team focusing on partnerships with studios and publishers.
“We are delighted to welcome Mike to Testronic,” said Testronic CEO and executive chair Sharon Baylay-Bell. “His depth of experience in the games industry and proven ability to drive growth and operational excellence will be instrumental as we continue to execute on our strategy and globally scale and grow the business.
“Mike is a strong cultural fit and a leader who shares our commitment to providing exceptional QA services to our worldwide studio and publishing partners.”
Wallen added: “Testronic has built an impressive reputation in the market, and I’ve watched Sharon and her team successfully restructure the company across three Centres of Excellence in Europe, the US and Asia over the past year.
“I’m excited to contribute my experience and help the team continue delivering market-leading QA and localisation services to the global games industry.”
Jay Sullivan | CEO, Fandom
Jay Sullivan has been appointed CEO of media platform Fandom.
Sullivan has two decades of experience in “helping build and launch technology products that have become an integral part of culture and achieved mass scale.”
Prior to joining Fandom, Sullivan was general manager of Twitter’s consumer and revenue products.
He has held executive positions at Facebook, where he led development of its Reality Labs’ AI Assistant, then led its Privacy, Integrity, and System product teams for Messenger and Instagram Direct.
Jay Sullivan
Sullivan was also chief product officer at Groupon, and SVP of product then chief operating officer and interim CEO at Mozilla.
“Jay Sullivan’s experience working on products with massive reach, and his understanding of the power of community, makes him the perfect leader to take Fandom into the future,” said Fandom and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.
“I am looking forward to seeing how the platform continues to grow and thrive, and better serve the Fandom community, under his stewardship.”
Sullivan added: “I’ve always been drawn to building products that millions of people use every day – and that also serve as platforms others can build on.
“Across the entertainment and gaming industry, Fandom is uniquely positioned to operate at a massive scale as both the destination for fan communities and a platform for the industry to connect with those fans. I’m excited to work alongside the Fandom team, our community, and industry partners to continue building this ecosystem together.”
Julien Wera | Chief operating officer, Shiro Games
Julien Wera has joined Shiro Games as chief operating officer.
In this role, Wera will oversee all studio operations in addition marketing, distribution, and publishing over internally developed titles and third-party publishing.
Wera has held various leadership positions across the games industry, including at Ubisoft, Dice, and Paradox Interactive. He also co-founded Moon Rover Games, where he served as CEO.
“As a studio, Shiro has always had a special place in my heart since its very first days,” said Wera.
“I have spent countless hours over the years talking with its founders Sebastien Vidal and Nicolas Cannasse about the trials and tribulations of making games and leading game companies.”
He added: “I’m very happy to be joining the studio at an exciting time, with Wartales going strong in its 5th year post-launch, new games SpaceCraft and Farever in development with our own teams, Frostrail coming from our partners at FakeFish Oy through our third-party publishing team, and more that hasn’t been publicly announced yet.”
Mervin Lee Kwai | Vice president of operations, NC America
NC America has hired Mervin Lee Kwai as vice president of operations.
Kwai will help lead the global launch of Aion 2 and “steer the current line-up” of the Korean developer and publisher’s legacy titles, including Aion, Blade & Soul, and Lineage 2.
“His MMO publishing expertise strengthens NC America’s prospect as it heads into a busy calendar year with launches of Aion 2, Cinder City, Limit Zero Breakers, and Time Breakers,” the company said.
Mervin Lee Kwai
Kwai is a 23-year veteran of the North American and European games industry. This includes leadership roles at Amazon Games, Sony Online Entertainment, and Trion Worlds.
“Mervin’s particular blend of game industry executive skills and deep understanding of MMORPGs in the modern market make him the perfect candidate for NC America’s strategic push to deliver our MMOs to the global stage,” said NC America CEO and NC West/Arenanet CCO Jeonghee ‘JJ’ Jin.
Kwai added: “Ever since our very first conversations, joining NC America just felt right. I already have a strong relationship with the Throne and Liberty development team and look forward to globally launching NCsoft’s upcoming titles, starting with Aion 2.”
Joshua Mills | Creative director (Rainbow Six Siege), Ubisoft Montréal
Joshua Mills has taken over from Alexander Karpazis as creative director on Rainbow Six Siege.
Mills joined Ubisoft Montréal in 2015 as senior level designer on Watch Dogs 2, becoming lead level designer on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and an unannounced project in 2019.
He started working on Rainbow Six Siege in 2022 as associate game director, then game director in 2024.
Mills previously worked at Compulsion Games for four years in level and game design roles.
“Joshua and I have worked together for many years,” said Karpazis. “Not only is he a great friend, but he has proven himself to be a strong leader and a champion of Siege values.
“We have been working on this transition of responsibilities for over a year, and I am confident he will lead this game to even greater heights. I will let him introduce himself in his new role below.”
Mills added: “It has been an incredible journey to get to this point. I’ve had the honour of representing Rainbow over the past four years and working alongside one of my favourite people: Alexander Karpazis.
“Thank you to all my mentors, friends and of course, my family for supporting me through all the long hours, business trips, and let’s be honest – almost obsession – to my work. I look forward to continuing to put everything I can into Siege and to continue to entertain and enrich others’ lives through the medium that has given me so much.”
