Managing Director MediaArt
Ukraine
Marina Sapunova has worked in various capacities at Media Art for the past 8 years, most recently as Managing Director,
a position she has held since April, 2008.
In her role she's responsible for business development managing partnerships with companies such as Merscom LLC, Big Fish Games,
Lifetime Networks and others.
Marina joined Media Art in 2001 and has gained extensive experience in project management and new product development when working on more than 30
software titles licensed to markets around the globe.
She has co-produced such titles as National Geographic Channel: Herod's Lost Tomb, Righteous Kill 2: The Revenge of the Poet Killer,
The Mystery of Mary Celeste, Nat Geo Adventure Lost City of Z.
Marina holds a Masters of Linguistics received with high honors from the Donetsk State University.
Chairman of Board of Directors Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Russia
Alexander Lyskovsky graduated from Novosibirsk State University with a Master's Degree in Computer Science. While studying, he worked on an interactive system for regional and transoceanic calculations of tsunami isochrones and geophysical model studies. In 1997, he left the field of science for the computer games industry. In 1999, the company he founded became Alawar Entertainment, one of the world's leading publishers of casual games. Today, Mr. Lyskovsky is in charge of strategic planning and tactical operations. Mr. Lyskovsky is also the co-founder and chairman of the board of the Independent Software Developers Forum (ISDEF), a major Eastern European association of software developers, distributors and publishers; an adviser of Casual Connect Kyiv, the first specialized conference in Eastern Europe dedicated to the casual games industry; and a member of the board of the Game Developers Club, an organization uniting the leading specialists affecting the development of the electronic game industry in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
CEO Absolutist
Ukraine
Vitaliy wrote his first “tetris” back in 80s and since then designed, sometimes programmed, and produced more than 100 casual games. He has been living “casual” his whole life, but had to be “hardcore” when he was managing financials for big companies. For the last 9 years he's the mastermind behind many of Absolutist games. His biggest dream is to work 24-7 on games. Vitaliy now manages a team of 50+ creative and talented people, gives strategic development directions to Absolutist’s production and marketing. He is a well-known speaker in all Eastern European game industry events. He’s a fan of mobile devices of all kinds. The second smaller part of Vitaliy’s life is devoted to family and their cute dachshund. Vitaliy holds a degree in Physics from a leading former USSR university.
V.P. of Business Development, INTENIUM GmbH
Germany
Alla has been in the casual games industry since 2003 working on the managerial positions in business development, sales and marketing in Absolutist, the biggest casual games company in Ukraine. In 2007 she left the company after a year of being its CEO and continued her career as VP of Business Development with Germany-based INTENIUM, the leading European casual games distributor, publisher and developer. In this position she is responsible for the strategic directions of the game holding, cooperation with international partners, and development studio control.
She holds an MA in English and World Literature.
Director of Marketing Communications and PR Alawar Entertainment
Russia
’s participation in exhibitions, conferences and other events. Moreover, Ms. Chernova serves as PR Advisor of the Casual Games Association (CGA). She's also responsible for coverage of CGA activity in East European mass media and assists in the organization of Casual Connect Kiev content. Tatyana holds a Master’s Degree in Linguistics from Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University and a second Master’s Degree in Economics and Management from Novosibirsk State University. Before coming to Alawar, she worked as a TV journalist and the host of a program featuring notable stories about city life in Russia.
V.P. of Business Development Playrix
Russia
Yuri Labintsev (aka Sean Elliot) is VP of Business Development with Playrix Entertainment, a top 10 casual games developer and publisher. The team behind such solid titles as The Rise of Atlantis, Fishdom, and many others has grown fivefold over the last 2 years and significantly expanded its production and publishing operations.
Sean has been with the company since its inception in 2004 and helped grow a startup into what is now a serious casual games developer and publisher with an extensive network of distribution partners, an experienced in-house development team and a number of talented external studio partners. His responsibilities include identifying new business opportunities as well as building key partnerships in publishing and distribution across multiple platforms.
He has a degree with honors in English and German languages and also completed coursework at Michigan State University where he picked up the name Sean Elliot that has been his work alias ever since.
Executive Producer Oberon Media
Washington
Since 1999 David Nixon has dedicated himself to pioneering new ways for our "casual" games to reach new audiences. In 1999, with RealArcade, he was one of the first to see the potential of "try before you buy". In 2000 he was one of the first to attempt "2nd Party" publishing. In 2001 he was looking to Eastern Europe as a source of commercially viable PC games, inspiring game developers around the world to participate in the amazing opportunities this category offered. In 2004 he helped catapult Oberon Media onto the casual games world stage. 2005 found David evangelizing "console casual" games with his central role in the launch of Xbox Live Arcade. Now, in 2009 he works to revitalize the role of “web games” in the casual games sector, expanding the role of online communities in the future of our industry. He currently works as Executive Producer at Oberon Media.
Arcade Producer Reflexive Entertainment
California
Terri Hardie is the Arcade Producer at Reflexive Entertainment and is responsible for evaluating and accepting all of the games launched in Reflexive’s online game distribution portal. Hired to help manage and grow the Reflexive Arcade, Terri has seen the industry, as well as the Arcade, take off like a rocket with more game submissions than are even feasible to launch. Her passion for games is exceeded only by her desire to bring the best games to the people who matter most, the gamers! Prior to working for Reflexive Entertainment, Terri received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She spent too many years in a boring law firm, playing any game she could get her hands on in her free time, until she landed her dream job at Reflexive Entertainment. Now, she plays games for a living and couldn’t be happier!
Director of GameHouse Partners RealGames
Washington
As the director of digital distribution for RealGames (the games division of RealNetworks), Jeremy Snook manages the content acquisition and post-production teams responsible for distributing casual games through Real’s worldwide games services to over 45 million monthly users. He joined RealNetworks in 2006.
Prior to joining RealNetworks, Snook was the marketing manager at Gas Powered Games, the award-winning developer of the Supreme Commander and Dungeon Siege franchises. Previous to his turn towards marketing, he held various producer positions at Gas Powered Games. Snook holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and is currently working on his graduate degree in digital media from the UW.
V.P. of Marketing i-Play
U.S.A
For the past 14 years, Breslin has led the marketing and communications programs for some of the video game industry’s most prolific and best selling mobile, iPhone, console and PC titles. As Vice President of Marketing for I-play and Oberon Media, Breslin is responsible for the marketing, communications and public relations for the world`s leading multi-platform casual games company. He has utilized his deep gaming experience and proven communication strategies to successfully manage the marketing of I-play’s vast roster of top mobile, iPhone, console and PC titles.