Next Games Restructures and Strengthens its Management Team

Next Games Company Release 27 April, 2018 at 08.01 EEST

Next Games has appointed two new members to its Management Team. Emmi Kuusikko, previously Head of Live Games and Services at Next Games, has been appointed Chief Product Officer. Joonas Viitala, previously Head of Business Development at Next Games, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer. Both Emmi and Joonas will report to the CEO. In addition, Sami Nurmio, previously Head of Games at Next Games, will assume a new role at Next Games and has been appointed Head of New Projects, reporting to the Chief Product Officer. The above changes will be effective as of 27 April, 2018.

Emmi Kuusikko has held various positions in top studios in Finland and in the UK during her 14-year career in the gaming industry. Over the years she has championed the use of data analytics to steer product strategy, and to build and operate sustainable services loved by players. In 2004, Emmi started her path in free-to-play games working for Sulake, the makers of Habbo Hotel. After that Emmi joined Digital Chocolate as VP of Product Management, from where she moved on to Microsoft and Lionhead Studios as the Business Management and Strategy Director, before returning back to Finland to work for Reforged Studios as their CMO.

Joonas Viitala has built his career in mobile gaming with a strong focus on global business development and expansion. Having lived and lead regional operations both in China and Korea, Joonas is a strong believer in multicultural teams in building Next Games' international success. Prior to joining Next Games, Joonas worked at Rovio, the creators of Angry Birds, holding various positions including Country Director for China and Korea, Business Development Director and Head of Production, Asia.

Sami Nurmio, previously Head of Games at Next Games, has been appointed Head of New Projects. Sami will be leading game concepting and prototyping for new products and building a robust new product pipeline at Next Games - A critically important role for the company's future success. Sami will be reporting to the Chief Product Officer.

"Next Games is entering into a new phase with multiple new games in the making and I'm very pleased to welcome Emmi and Joonas to the Management Team. Their experience and expertise will further reinforce and complement our existing team's strengths. I'm confident this team will guide Next Games through this important phase of expansion. In addition, I'm excited about strengthening our new product development with Sami's extensive experience in the games industry, " said Teemu Huuhtanen, CEO, Next Games.

As of 27 April, 2018 the Management Team consists of Teemu Huuhtanen (CEO), Annina Salvén (CFO), Saara Bergström (CMO), Emmi Kuusikko (CPO), Kalle Hiitola (CTO) and Joonas Viitala (COO). The members of the Management Team report to the CEO, Teemu Huuhtanen.

Additional information:
press@nextgames.com

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Next Games

Next Games (Helsinki Nasdaq First North: NXTGMS) is the first publicly listed mobile game developer and publisher in Finland, specializing in games based on entertainment franchises, such as movies, TV series or books. The developers of the critically acclaimed The Walking Dead: No Man's Land redefines the way franchise entertainment transforms into highly engaging service-based mobile games. The Walking Dead: No Man's Land, based on the popular AMC TV series, has been downloaded over 20 million times, with the game mirroring events as they occur in the show. Currently Next Games is working on four new games based on popular entertainment franchises including a mobile game for the popular Blade Runner franchise and an innovative location-based augmented reality game, The Walking Dead: Our World. Next Games employs over 100 people and is based in Helsinki, Finland. www.nextgames.com

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