IGDA Exec Director Caulfield To Leave As Association Reorganizes

Author: by Staff

The International Game Developers Association has announced that Executive Director Joshua Caulfield will leave in August, as the organization "continues the reorganization of its infrastructure to better serve our members." The Association, which had Jason Della Rocca as Executive Director for 9 years to 2009, named Caulfield to the post in July 2009. He will be leaving to become the Executive Director of an association for architecture students. Speaking to Gamasutra at the time of his appointment, Caulfield noted: "The IGDA's mission has remained very much the same: That is, to support the professional game developer... to enhance the lives of game developers, to connect developers with their peers, and so on. Those [goals] have not changed." However, a focus on more tangible takeaways for the association was one of the focuses of Caulfield's time, including a group insurance rate negotiated for members, in addition to regular discounts to shows like the Game Developers Conference. The Board of Directors for the not-for-profit association, which currently consist of industry figures including Google's Mark DeLoura, Big Huge Games' Tim Train and Foundation 9's Jane Pinckard, also recently enacted a new committee system, "to better focus on the primary needs of the organization." Each committee is chaired by a board member and they include Membership, Policy/Advocacy, Events/Sponsorship/Partners, Technology, Marketing/Communications, Special Interest Groups and Chapters. Members-at-large and other directors also sit on these committees, "allowing a broader base of game developers an opportunity to drive organization-wide efforts in these areas." According to an official IGDA announcement, the Board of Directors will be launching a search for a new Executive Director immediately. “We wish Joshua the best in his future endeavors,” said the chair of the Board of Directors, Gordon Bellamy. “It’s absolutely an amicable parting, and we appreciate all the hard work and dedication Joshua has poured into being our Executive Director over the last year.” “We’re going to come through this a stronger, better organization and we’re making our volunteers an integral part of the change,” added Bellamy. “We’ll keep everyone informed as these roles are filled in the coming weeks and as the IGDA continues to evolve.”