James R.

Chief Product Officer at Miniclip

Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

About

Chief Product Officer at Miniclip, responsible for product strategy, game production and design across the mobile portfolio, and for supporting all Miniclip studios, acquired companies, publishing and M&A. Helped to grow Miniclip into a top 5 global mobile games publisher, with over 10 billion downloads and over 400 million monthly active players, growing top grossing games such as 8 Ball Pool, Subway Surfers, and helping build & release successful new titles such as Golf Battle, Triple Match 3D and many more. 20 year track record of creative leadership at highly successful game development studios, with broad spectrum product and design expertise, from PC AAA strategy titles, to mobile casual, social free-to-play games. BAFTA winning hands-on work as a Lead Game Designer, with franchise-wide responsibility as Design Director of the Total War series (RTS build & fight), overseeing PC, mobile, DLC programs and free-to-play projects. Deep interest and expertise in free to play design, grounded by a strong psychology & economics background. Previous career at a major management consulting firm, focusing on business strategy & growth, financial modelling and company valuation (including private equity / venture capital). Speaker at GDC, GDC Europe, Eurogamer (EGX, Rezzed), Igromir Russia, Develop, PAX Prime Degrees in Psychology & Neuroscience.

Experience

  • Miniclip (11 yrs 9 mos)
    • Chief Product Officer
      Jun 2020 - Present · 6 yrs 1 mo

      Leadership of product strategy, game production and design across the mobile portfolio, and for supporting all Miniclip studios, acquired companies, publishing and M&A. Helped to grow Miniclip into a top 5 global mobile games publisher, with over 10 billion downloads and over 400 million monthly active players, growing top grossing games such as 8 Ball Pool, Subway Surfers, and helping build & release successful new titles such as Golf Battle, Triple Match 3D and many more.

    • Head of Game Design
      Oct 2014 - Jun 2020 · 5 yrs 9 mos

  • Design Director | Lead Game Designer (Total War Series) at CA (SEGA) at The Creative Assembly
    Jan 2005 - Oct 2014 · 9 yrs 10 mos

    Design Director & overall Lead Designer for the multi award winning Total War Series. Credits include: * Lead Designer for Total War: Rome II (No. 1 in PC game charts 2013). * Lead Designer for Total War: Shogun 2 (No. 1 in PC game charts, and won BAFTA for Best Strategy Game in 2012). * Lead Designer for Empire: Total War (No. 1 in All-Formats charts, and won BAFTA for Best Strategy Game in 2010). * Lead Designer for Fall of the Samurai (No. 1 in PC game charts 2012). * Lead Designer for Napoleon: Total War (No. 1 in PC game charts 2010). * Game Designer on Rome: Total War Barbarian Invasion (2005). Oversight of mobile titles, including Total War Battles:Shogun and Total War Battles: Kingdom (currently in closed beta). Creative leadership as Design Director for Total War: ARENA (free to play multiplayer online) and Total War: Attila (release Feb 2015).

  • Senior Associate Consultant at L.E.K. Consulting
    Aug 1999 - Jul 2003 · 4 yrs

    Management consultancy experience across industry sectors, including Biotech, Software, Transport, Financial Services, e-commerce, Real-estate, Leisure and Retail. Conducted M&A due diligence & company valuation for industry and private equity investors. Significant experience with market sizing & segmentation, competitor evaluation, and growth strategy, including new products & services, new business models, partnerships, new markets & geographies. Extensive economic modelling & valuation expertise. Worked in London, Boston, and Melbourne.

  • A-Level Psychology Teacher at Mander Portman Woodward
    Sep 1997 - May 1999 · 1 yr 9 mos

    Also taught A-Level Psychology at Francis Holland School