Play Ventures has appointed Eliana Kim as head of events and Jakob Longer as senior vice president, we can reveal.
Kim moves over from Maker Lab where she helped create, organise and produce events for YouTube, Supercell, Red Bull and others in the APAC region. She will now focus on Play’s global event calendar, including its annual Play Summit.
Longer moves from his role as head of M&A at Rovio, and has also previously worked at Wargaming as chief of staff and director of operations. Prior to Wargaming, Longer served in his first stint at Rovio, most recently as exec producer on its match and build games. As SVP at Play, he will now be working in the investments team and focusing on its later stage portfolio’s strategic growth and exit strategies.
Play Ventures is a prolific early-stage investor in mobile development and tech start-ups. Its investments in mobile game studios including Black Block, Cypher Games, First Light, Funcraft and Original Games.
Notable exits from its portfolio companies include Google’s acquisition of avatar company Alter, Playtika’s deal for Reworks and PlayStation’s acquisition of Savage Game Studios (now rebranded as Neon Koi).
Play Ventures partner Phylicia Koh said of Kim’s hiring: “Eliana is a true professional at crafting global experiences, having delivered show-stopping events for the likes of YouTube, Supercell, and more. Her appointment marks a new era for Play, where connecting our community with the broader gaming and tech world through our events and experiences is a key part of our strategy.”
Founding partner at Play Ventures Henric Suuronen described Longer as a perfect fit for the firm. “He brings excellent knowledge in gaming M&A, corporate development and industry contacts that will help our portfolio companies as they grow and mature and start thinking about next stages for the businesses.”
