EA veteran joins Outspark as CEO

Owen Mahoney, formerly of EA, has joined casual MMO publisher Outspark as CEO. Mahoney replaces Outspark’s founder and current CEO, Susan Choe, who will continue to serve as chairman of the board at the San Francisco publisher, where she will work with game developers on partnering with Outspark.

Before joining Outspark, which specialisies in free MMOs and social online games, Mahoney spent a decade-and-a-half in the digital media sector. Outspark’s new hire most recently completing nine years of service at EA as senior vice president of corporate and business development.

Mahomey has also held a number of executive positions at online and software companies in both the US and Asia.

“Since founding Outspark early 2007, the ‘freemium’ MMO market has evolved dramatically. Outspark’s team has built a leading game publishing company, executing solid growth while bringing together a unique MMO publishing platform with social community elements,” said Choe. “With Owen’s leadership and business experience in the global gaming industry, Outspark will evolve as a leading global game industry player.”

Mahoney is the latest EA exec to leave the company to join a casual startup, following a number of others including COO John Pleasants, who departed to join MySpace game publisher Playdom, and Command and Conquer’s Louise Castle, who now heads up Instant Action.

To read the full story, click here to visit our sister-site, CasualGaming.biz.