Angry Birds creator and gaming magnate Rovio has announced today that it is expanding its US presence by opening an office in Santa Monica. But the bigger news is perhaps who is going to be filling the positions there. Industry veterans from Tumblr, Fremantle and Millennial Media.
Rachel Webber of Tumblr joins as Head of Business Development, Michele Tobin joins as Head of Advertising Sales from Millenial Media and the trio is rounded out by Naz Cuevas who joins as Senior Director of Consumer Products and Retail Strategy.
The expansion into the US is big news for the company, which already has offices in Shanghai, China, and Stockholm, Sweden, in addition to its head office in Helsinki, Finland. Having a US base puts Rovio in the position to better work with a market that holds the lion’s share of mobile app sales around the world.
The choice of Santa Monica is interesting. Instead of shooting for the Valley, Rovio is placing itself quite close to Los Angeles and the hub for broadcast media in the US. This could play to the company’s choice of marketing for its products, which has been quite media-centric in the past.
The sniping of big talent, however, is nothing new for the company. It recently added a former EA exec to its Stockholm office. There’s no word yet on whether we can expect anything like another Angry Birds amusement park, but the company is making a big splash into the US waters with today’s announcement.
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