AIAS Adds, Announces Board Members

Officials from the video game industry trade body the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS), which operates both the Interactive Achievement Awards and the yearly D.I.C.E Summit in Las Vegas, announced several changes within the organization's board of directors. The organization added Ubisoft vice president of US publishing Jay Cohen, THQ executive vice president of worldwide publishing Kelly Flock, and Insomniac Games CEO and president Ted Price to its board. The board also re-elected three key members, including Bioware founder Ray Muzyka, Electronic Arts' Rich Hilleman, and Microsoft Game Studios' senior director of business development Frank Pape. In addition, Day 1 Studios' president Denny Thorley was named as the organization's chairman. According to an official AIAS statement, the new board begins a two-year term on August 1, 2006. The AIAS itself was founded in 1996, and its mission, according to its official website, is to: "Promote and advance common interests in the worldwide entertainment software community... Recognize outstanding achievement in interactive content and the entertainment software community... Conduct an annual awards show and enhance the image and awareness of entertainment software."