Mobile gaming veteran Bernard Kim has joined Unity’s board as an independent director, while Unity cofounder David Helgason and IronSource cofounder Tomer Bar-Zeev have left the company.
Former EA Mobile, Zynga and Match Group boss Kim joins the Unity board on May 1. Unity cofounder David Helgason and IronSource cofounder Tomer Bar-Zeev both resigned with immediate effect on February 5, according to SEC filings.
“Bernard brings deep experience building and scaling global, public companies at the intersection of games and technology,“ said Jim Whitehurst, chairman of Unity’s board of directors, in a press release. “His leadership across mobile gaming, advertising technology, and consumer platforms will be a valuable addition to the Unity board.”
David Helgason cofounded Unity as Over The Edge Entertainment alongside Joachim Ante and Nicholas Francis in 2004. The founders pivoted their game studio to build out the engine side of the business shortly afterwards, before the company’s tools exploded in popularity when the iPhone and the App Store arrived.
Helgason stepped back as CEO in 2014, and remained as a board member through its IPO in 2020 up until earlier this month.
IronSource cofounder Tomer Bar-Zeev joined Unity when the engine maker merged with the adtech giant in 2022. He was expected to depart in 2024, when we were sent internal emails suggesting that the entire IronSource founding team were leaving following a troubled $4.4bn merger which saw culture clashes and allegations of bullying at the newly-combined entity.
President and CEO of Unity Matt Bromberg paid tribute to the pair in a press release: “David and Tomer have been vital partners as we’ve grown and transformed Unity. They welcomed me into the company, shared their unique vision as founders, and have provided unfailing support. I’m looking forward to many more years of conversation with both of them.”
The engine and adtech giant is also bidding farewell to chief accounting officer Mark Barrysmith, who is retiring. Board member Mary Schmidt Campbell is also retiring when her term expires after Unity’s 2026 annual meeting of stockholders.
