—Big Fish just hooked a new finance chief. The Seattle casual games company today announced that Bob Chamberlain recently joined as CFO.
The hire is significant, in part because Chamberlain previously held the same role at PopCap Games, which sold to the Electronic Arts for up to $1.3 billion in 2011. He’s also the former CFO of F5 Networks, a publicly-traded company with a market value of $9.3 billion.
Most recently, Chamberlain served as CFO at online advertising company AudienceScience. He’s also worked in senior finance roles at WatchGuard, Getty Images and Onyx Software.
“After more than a decade of strong financial performance, Big Fish is now an industry-leading mobile game company,” said Big Fish founder Paul Thelen. “Bob’s experience as a tech and game industry financial leader is an asset to our senior management team, and he’s a great cultural fit.”
—Her Interactive, the Bellevue maker of the Nancy Drew video game series, has named board member Penny Milliken as CEO. Milliken, a board member for the past 11 years at the company, replaces Stuart Moulder.
“Her Interactive is one of those rare companies to have truly mastered the mystery adventure game genre, and I couldn’t be more honored to be chosen to lead this company,” said Milliken, a former Walt Disney marketing executive. “The opportunities for Her Interactive are enormous, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move quickly, and continue to adapt our games to different platforms and playing preferences. A big part of my job will be to accelerate our ability to bring innovative games and apps to our customers more quickly.”
Earlier this year, Her Interactive launched its first games for iOS and Android tablets.
— Seattle-based home improvement data startup Porch has hired a new CTO, Jay Allen, previously Director of Amazon Local Consumer Technologies. Read more in this GeekWire story.
—Startup veteran Ali Partovi has joined San Francisco food products company Hampton Creek as chief strategy officer. Read more in this GeekWire story.
—Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is returning to the helm of the media company he founded in 1981, Bloomberg L.P.. The billionaire holds an 88 percent stake in the company, operator of news wire services, TV and Web properties.
—Modumetal, a venture-backed Seattle startup working on nanolaminated materials, has named Timm Burnett as Director of North American Sales. Burnett — who previously worked at oilfield services company National Oilwell Varco — will be responsible for leading the company’s growth in the oil and gas sector. Burnett is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the author of eight technical papers.
—Pendrell, the patent holding company, has appointed Steven A. Ednie as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The 46-year-old former chief accounting officer at Clearwire and former director of tax at Expedia will start September 8, earning a base salary of $350,000 per year.
Know of a notable tech industry hire? Email tips@geekwire.com. More Tech Moves here.
