Kalypso Taps Longtime Exec Tillett To Head U.S. Operations

Experienced industry management and marketing executive Deborah Tillett has been given the post of president at the new U.S. headquarters of publisher Kalypso Media. The PC-oriented European publisher has existing operations in Germany and the U.K.; the opening of its new Baltimore office marks its first major expansion into the North American market. Tillett joins the company with a well-established career in games, particularly in Maryland, having previously served as an executive at studios such as MicroProse Software (where she launched the original Sid Meier's Civilization) and BreakAway Games, both of which also have a strong PC focus. Kalypso's managing director Simon Hellwig said of Tillett, "Deb has a proven track record of success in establishing and growing technology companies, and a fluent understanding of the video game business." According to today's announcement, Tillett will set the direction and strategy for the new division, including likely expanding the company's breadth of releases across genres and systems. "I am pleased to spearhead Kalypso’s entrance into the North American market and eager to grow its presence," she said in a statement. "In addition to ramping up production and distribution capabilities, I am excited at the opportunity to diversify our content and platform offerings." Kalypso owns the German development studios Realmforge Studios (Ceville) and Gaming Minds, which was recently formed as Kalypso acquired the rights to numerous properties created by Ascaron Entertainment.