This past week, International Data Group announced that they have promoted Mary Dolaher to CEO of IDG World Expo. She will oversee IDG World Expo's suite of events, not the least of which is the fledgling "Entertainment for All Expo" (E for All) in addition to Macworld and LinuxWorld and others. Dolaher will help facilitate new business development by focusing on creating dynamic communities around each show.

"Mary Dolaher is a strategic thinker who is leading IDG World Expo in new directions," said Bob Carrigan, president, IDG Communications. "Her 20-plus years of experience leading major events will help make IDG World Expo one of the top-rated exposition companies in the world."

Dolaher started out as Director of Corporate Communications for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). She then became the director for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) as Senior Vice President. After the major overhauling of E3 in 2006, Dolaher joined IDG World Expo the following fall.

"I've been in the exposition industry for much of my career, and I know that IDG World Expo has the opportunity grow significantly," said Dolaher. "In these past months, as I've worked with the team of top-notch professionals at this organization - with the talent and dedication they bring to events - I know we can look forward to expanding IDG's suite of successful events and providing outstanding experiences for our exhibitors and attendees."

Nvidia's vice president of developer relations Roy Taylor this past week announced that Darryl Still will be leaving the company. The former Director of Content for the graphic processor specialist is moving over to Russian publisher 1C where he will be a marketing director.

"Darryl is one of the stalwarts of the gaming industry in Europe and is deservedly popular with friend and foe alike," said Taylor in his blog. "He will be sadly missed but he leaves on the best of terms and we will remain good friends."

Still was originally brought on after Richard Huddy left the company to join rival ATI. He then helped smooth out the company's European development efforts. Still will probably be best remembered for Nvidia's "The Way It's Meant To Be Played" campaign that ran with European game developers.

Recently, Playlogic Entertainment announced that Sara Sky Schutte joined the company as the Corporate Public Relations and Investor Relations Manager. She will follow Playlogic's digital entertainment applications and help expound the company's exposure and involvement in the corporate sphere.

"The Multimedia Arts and Digital Entertainment are extremely exciting and promising fields to be involved in contemporarily," states Schutte. "With the near-limitless possibilities of digital applications, I am enthusiastic about the current developments I am discovering here. The tractable dimensions, flexibility and global view of Playlogic are ideal for this ever-changing market."

Schutte's varied experiences include time with Banca dell'Art, where she focused on e-commerce developments and global multimedia art market growth while developing charter Art Institutions in Milan. She has worked with several print and on-line publications internationally, with over 8 years of International Communications, Public Relations and Journalism experience. Schutte transferred from Italy, where she worked as a Public Relations and Communications Consultant for several media companies, to the Netherlands for this position.

822 Digital recently announced that it hired Lauren Faccidomo as Director of Business. This was part of the dedicated video game ad agency's move into a new studio.

"We're heading into our second year with real excitement," said President and Creative Director Steven J. Rosenbaum. "We're going to give game publishers and studios absolutely everything they will ever want and need to market their games in the most creatively captivating, unique and cost effective way.

Faccidomo has more than a decade of marketing experience in the video game business and entertainment industry. She has had stints with Capcom Interactive, Sony Mobile Games, Vivendi Universal Games, Mattel Interactive and Rockstar Games before joining 822.

"Lauren brings tremendous executive experience and understanding of creative marketing to 822," said Rosenbaum. "She knows first hand the concerns and constraints brand managers deal with everyday. She's highly skilled at developing and maintaining critical, long term client relationships."

Rentrak, which provides point-of-sale data for home video rentals (including video games), recently announced that Ken Papagan had been appointed company president and Cathy Hetzel as president of the Advanced Media & Information Division (AMID). Papagan will work directly with the Chairman and the Board in leading new business initiatives in cross platform reporting and analytics, acquiring independent data and setting the strategic direction of the media consumption tracking company. Hetzel will provide digital entertainment industry knowledge and leadership experience in helping to drive revenue and growth for Rentrak's Entertainment Essentials suite of services while having full operating and financial accountability for the AMID.

"Ken and Cathy have been integral to Rentrak's success in building our reputation as a premier media measurement and information services corporation across multiple delivery platforms," said Paul Rosenbaum, CEO at Rentrak. "Their leadership and strategic thinking has led to Rentrak's seminal role in developing On Demand measurement and laid the strategic foothold to the company's expanding analysis of cross platform consumption of entertainment content."

Papagan has over 30 years of experience with major entertainment and media companies. His last 10 years have focused on working with digital media across all platforms globally, advertising agencies, distributors, the leading content providers, in addition to technology platforms and software developers. Papagan joined Rentrak in November 2002 .

"It is has been enormously gratifying to play a key role managing the transformation of the company into a business information powerhouse for the media and entertainment industry," commented Papagan. "I look forward to continuing my work with the talented team of professionals at Rentrak to build and expand upon this foundation as we further expand the scope of our business intelligence offerings that has already positively impacted the way advertisers, content providers and distribution networks conduct their businesses."

Hetzel is a 26-year veteran of the cable industry, having been a leader in strategic business development and marketing within the media and entertainment sectors. She's been honored as a Wonder Woman from Multichannel News and Women in Cable & Telecommunications and as one of the Top Women in Technology by CableWorld. Hetzel joined Rentrak in 2004 and helped develop and introduce the company's OnDemand Essentials product line.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to work with the Rentrak team to expand our current advanced media services and to launch new products that further Rentrak's industry leadership position in tracking and reporting actual data at the census level of information to help our clients maximize their businesses," commented Hetzel.

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