Games Group Bigpoint Names New Executive Team

COLOGNE, Germany – German online games group Bigpoint has added two new names to its executive roster as it lays out ambitious global expansion plans.

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Christian Unger, the former CEO of Swiss media group Ringier and Khalad Helioui, an executive with private equity group TA Associates, will join the Hamburg-based games group as, respectively, the new Chief Operating Officer and new Chief Games Officer.

In addition, two current Bigpoint execs, Claire Davenport and Tim Weickert, have been promoted to Chief Creative Officer and Chief Technology Officer, respectively.

The executive shuffle follows the announcement that Bigpoint's Chief Games Officer Philip Reisberger and his brother, Chief Revenue Officer Tobias Reisberger, are leaving the company next month to focus on their own mobile gaming studio, AppFlag.

Together with company founder and CEO Heiko Hubertz, Bigpoint's new executive team will oversee the further global expansion of the company, which boasts more than 250 million users for its online gaming site. Bigpoint has developed and markets several games based on Hollywood properties, including Battlestar Gallactica, Game of Thrones and Ice Age. 

Hubertz' expansion plans will see it boosts its operations in Paris, London, Madrid, San Francisco and San Paulo, Brazil as well as open new national headquarters abroad. The company also wants to open up its gaming site for third-party developers of free-to-play titles.

Private equity groups TA Associates and Summit Partners took majority control of Bigpoint in a $350 million deal last year that handed them a 67 percent stake in the company. Hubertz retains just over 30 percent of Bigpoint.