Take-Two Interactive - Gary Dale
Take-Two Interactive Software recently announced that Gary Dale has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he will be responsible for Take-Two's publishing labels and continue to oversee the company's business development initiatives, sales activities and international expansion, while reporting to Take-Two CEO Ben Feder.

"Gary Dale has been a valuable member of the Company's management team, serving in a number of increasingly important roles," said Feder. "He also is highly experienced in many of the disciplines that will be essential to Take-Two's future growth, including the operations of our publishing labels, global market expansion, sales and distribution, and business development. We look forward to further contributions from Gary in his new position as our COO."

Dale was President of the Interactive Software and Video Division of BMG Entertainment starting in 1994 until Take-Two acquired BMG Interactive in March 1998. He was European Managing Director of Capcom Entertainment beginning in 2003, before rejoining Take-Two as COO of Rockstar Games from January 2007 through December 2007. Dale had been serving as Executive Vice President of Take-Two since December 2007.

Championship Gaming Series - Andy Reif
This past week, the Championship Gaming Series announced that CEO Andy Reif has ended his initial two-season contract. He will now be leaving the league to pursue other opportunities. Dale Hopkins, previously the chief operating officer for G4 Network, will take over Reif's duties as head of the league.

"CGS would like to thank Andy Reif for his dedication and hard work in launching the company," said the Championship Gaming Series in a brief statement.

Technicolor - Rick Mischel
Technicolor announced this past week that Rick Mischel has been named Executive Vice President, Animation & Interactive Services. He will help lead a division that has produced high-end cinematics for Midway and Epic and audio work for Activision and Microsoft.

"Rick is blue chip talent," stated TCS president Ahmad Ouri. "With his background in both production and project development, Rick provides a wonderful balance between his leadership and creative skills covering the broad spectrum of our Animation & Interactive Services businesses."

Mischel started his career as an entertainment attorney at O'Melveny & Myers. He then went on to serve as President and COO of Harvey Entertainment Company, the rights-holder to Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Witch and then Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Production, Live (Artisan) Entertainment. Mischel then moved on to be CEO of Mainframe Entertainment and then founded and became President of Reach Games, both located in Vancouver, British Columbia. At Mainframe , Mischel served as Executive Producer on numerous projects including Escape From Planet Earth, a CGI animated version of The Nutty Professor and the recent Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Sabotage.

"I am thrilled to help build this new business around Technicolor's well-earned reputation for quality and dependability in all its client services," said Mischel. "With those resources, a truly global approach, and an already-established record of production in the games and animation arenas, Technicolor is well-positioned for success."

Universally Speaking - Two Appointments
Universally Speaking, a specialist games services company that deals with localization among other things, announced recently two key appointments in Connie Armstrong as marketing manager and Jean-Baptiste Bagot as localization project manager. Armstrong will oversee the company's marketing activities while helping to establish Universally Speaking's new identity.

"I'm delighted that Connie has joined my team," said Universally Speaking managing director Vickie Peggs. "Connie's experience in the entertainment industry, handling corporate communications for major blue chips and overseeing target driven campaigns will firmly allow Universally Speaking to pursue its aggressive growth plans."

Armstrong's career began at the movie industry with EMI, BMG and Polygram. Her most recent position was at leading marketing agency and brand specialist for Jack Morton Worldwide. Jean-Baptiste joins Universally Speaking from Sega Europe, where he was language Q.A. coordinator for several years.

"Jean-Baptiste brings an enormous amount of experience to our already established team," commented Peggs. "He has settled in quickly and has already become a highly valued member of my localization team. I'm very pleased he has agreed to come on board."

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