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 [email protected]
Yvonne Lukanowski | Head of PR, Astragon Entertainment
Astragon Entertainment has promoted Yvonne Lukanowski to head of public relations.
Lukanowski joined Astragon in 2017 as a PR and marketing intern. She proceeded to climb the ladder at the developer, becoming PR and marketing manager in 2020 then senior PR manager in 2023.
Daniella Wallau, who previously held the role of head of PR, will “continue to support Astragon as senior public relations manager.”
Lukanowski will report directly to Astragon managing directors Julia Pfiffer and Tim Schmitz.
Mark DeLoura | Executive director of innovation and growth, Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference has appointed GDC advisor Mark DeLoura as its executive director of innovation and growth.
The new leadership role will “ensure GDC’s strategy, programming and presence is future-facing and deeply connected to the industry it serves.”
DeLoura has more than three decades of experience in the games industry, including helping to launch platforms like the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and PlayStation 3.
He was editor-in-chief of Game Developer Magazine, and senior advisor for digital media at The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Obama.
DeLoura also helped oversee GDC’s transition from the Computer Game Developers Conference (1988 to 1999) into its current iteration, and served as an advisor for the event for over a decade.
“GDC has always been a home for people who care deeply about making games and now it’s transforming into something even more ambitious,” said DeLoura.
“It’s incredibly exciting to step into this role to ensure that GDC remains connected to the community while expanding to serve everyone who is shaping the future of games.”
Vice president of Gaming at Informa Festivals Nina Brown added: “Mark has been a longtime member of the GDC family. We could not have a better leader joining to help change the game as GDC becomes an inclusive festival of gaming to better serve the industry we all love.
“He is among the rare few that has a holistic perspective of the rapidly evolving industry from the inside out.”
Kate Billingham | Product manager lead, Raw Fury
Kate Billingham has joined Raw Fury as product manager.
Billingham began her career in the games industry at Ubisoft as project coordinator and as part of the Frag Dolls. She then joined XLeagueTV as head researcher from 2007 to 2008, then moved to Sega Europe as PR and marketing executive.
She worked as product manager at Atari from 2011 to 2012, then product manager for The Walt Disney Company in its EMEA and UK regions between 2012 and 2014.
Billingham was senior product manager at Goodgame Studios in 2015 before joining Electronic Arts in 2016 as global brand manager, later becoming senior global brand manager.
She left EA in 2022 and returned to Ubisoft as expert brand manager, then product director.
Caolan McKendry | Game dev consultant, IndieBI
Caolan McKendry has joined sales intelligence and revenue optimization service IndieBI as a game dev consultant.
McKendry started his games industry career in 2020 as director for Wee Pixel Media. He worked at Bellular Studios as a marketing consultant, as well as a content developer at Causeway Digital.
In 2021, McKendry started at Ambertail Games as community manager, becoming operations director and producer in 2022 then COO in 2024.
McKendry is also director of the Northern Ireland Game Dev Network, and founder of games consultancy business Ship Shape. He is also part of business development at boutique games industry consultancy group Uwu Games.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be working alongside Tom Kaczmarczyk, Kamil Kozicki, Callum Underwood, Alex Nicholson and co. in the industry’s leading consultancy teams, helping some of the world’s most successful games and developers,” said McKendry.
