Global commerce platform provider Xsolla has announced the hiring of Cathleen Nilson as its new chief financial officer. Nilson, who has over two decades of experience in the technology industry, joins the company after a one-year stint at Kami Vision, which specializes in video-based generative AI.
Prior to that, she served as CFO at Turing.com and Samsung. She previously spent time in the video game business as the global IT finance controller for Electronic Arts.
In February 2024, the company announced a shakeup of its leadership structure, bringing new executives into the company. Nilson's hiring as CFO may be an extended result of this change in management.
While players probably don't know the name Xsolla, studios across the globe have partnered with the company to operate their payment and monetization platforms. Among these studios are Dying Light 2 developer Techland, Smite developer Hi-Rez Studios, and Chinese publisher NetEase Games.
Xsolla's role in moving tens of millions (if not billions) of dollars from players to developers has invited some scrutiny in its operations. In 2023, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine dragged on, Ukrainian minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov called for a boycott of Xsolla for its continued operations in Russia. Interim CEO Chris Hewish pushed back on the implication it was helping fund the war effort in an interview with Axios, though he acknowledged the company still has an office in the city of Perm.
In 2021 Xsolla made headlines for laying off about one-third of its workforce based on data from an "algorithm" that was supposed to measure workplace productivity. CEO and founder Aleksandr Agapitov defended the decision in an interview with Russian publication Meduza.
Update: A previous version of this story stated that Nilson appeared to be Xsolla's first CFO. Game Developer has been made aware of other individuals who bore the title at the company. This piece has been updated accordingly.
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