Hothead Hires Radical's Wilkinson As President And CEO

Vancouver-based publisher Hothead Games (Penny Arcade Adventures) has hired Ian Wilkinson, formerly of Radical Entertainment, as its president and CEO. Wilkinson held the same executive role at Vancouver neighbor Radical, where he led the studio from startup through its acquisition by Vivendi before Vivendi's merger with Activision. Most recently, Radical's worked on Crash: Mind Over Mutant and Prototype for Activision -- and the company reportedly halved the studio's staff and reduced the number of projects in development there. Wilkinson now says he's "very excited to be back in the industry," although it's unclear whether he was among the layoffs or elected to leave the studio. Hothead's former president and CEO Vlad Ceraldi becomes director of game development, and COO Joel DeYoung moves from COO to director of game technology. Ceraldi says he worked for Wilkinson at Radical, and recommended his business leadership skills to Hothead. "I have worked with both Joel and Vlad before," says Wilkinson. "We made some fantastic games that were multi-million sellers such as The Simpsons Hit & Run and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction." "I know that together, along with the outstanding team assembled at Hothead with Ron Gilbert and others, we will become one of the great game creators in the world."