GDC Europe 2011 Reveals Summit Advisory Boards, Main Board Additions

Author: by Staff

The organizers of this August's Game Developers Conference Europe 2011 have revealed the notable line-up for the brand-new Summit advisory boards, as well as an addition to the main GDC Europe board. The industry luminaries joining the advisory boards represent companies including Playfish, Sony Online Entertainment, THQ, Copenhagen Game Collective, DDM and more, and will be responsible for helping craft the content of the event, which now includes four major Summits and five Main Conference Tracks. For the first year, the 2011 GDC Europe advisory boards are split into Summit-specific boards and a Main Conference board, with the following announcements made: - Johan Sjoberg, the Swedish-based lead agent at game representation agency DDM, is joining GDC Europe's main advisory board. Sjoberg works closely with the agency's game developer clients -- including firms like Ninja Theory and Vatra Games -- on business development and corporate strategy, and his connections within the European game industry should prove invaluable to the event. - The inaugural Social Games Summit has announced board members from the forefront of the European social games scene. These include UK-based Playfish/Electronic Arts VP and co-founder Kristian Segerstrale, as well as the Finnish founder of Rocket Pack, Jiri Kupiainen – whose social game company was recently acquired by Disney. - The first-ever Smartphone & Tablet Summit at GDC Europe has added as a board member Germany-based Fishlabs CEO and co-founder Michael Schade, whose Galaxy On Fire series has found success on multiple mobile platforms. Other confirmed advisors include Secret Exit's Jetro Lauha – the Finnish firm's Zen Bound 2 and Stair Dismount have seen multiple millions of downloads. - The Independent Games Summit at GDC now includes advisors such as Copenhagen Game Collective co-founder Lau Korsgaard, whose Danish collective is behind innovative indie party game B.U.T.T.O.N., recently showcased at this year's Independent Games Festival at GDC 2011. Also added is Remote Control Productions' Hendrik Lesser, whose firm works with notable European independent creators such as Brightside Games (Zeit2). - Finally, the Community Management Summit has added to its core co-organizer, German-based Two Pi Team CEO Thomas Lagemann, with the appointment of Linda Carlson, director of global community relations for Sony Online Entertainment, as well as THQ's director of community management Chris Mancil, a veteran of studios including Trion Worlds and Vivendi Games. In addition, returning advisors to the GDC Europe main board include Zynga's Bob Bates; pioneering game designer Don Daglow; Remedy Entertainment's Matias Myllyrinne; Avni Yerli of Crytek; Strategic Alternatives' Robert Wallace; Alexander Fernandez of Streamline Studios; International Digital Entertainment Agency's Sean Kauppinen; Harald Riegler of Sproing; and Frank Sliwka, Vice President European Business Development and Event Director GDC Europe. GDC Europe will take place August 15-17, 2011 at the Congress-Centrum Ost Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. For more information about GDC Europe, please visit the event's official website.