Khaled Helioui to lead Bigpoint

HAMBURG, Germany, March 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Bigpoint (http://www.bigpoint.com), Europe's leading online game developer and publisher, is announcing the selection of Khaled Helioui as its new Managing Director. Mr. Helioui is  entrusted with driving and executing the company's strategy, including the further expansion of its portfolio of games with a strong focus on quality and innovation and the extension of its international reach within Europe, Asia and America. The gaming and internet industry expert took over the company's reins on February 1, 2013.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130308/600759 )

Mr. Helioui joined Bigpoint in July 2012 as Chief Games Officer (CGO) and was responsible of managing the games portfolio. In this position he oversaw the development of new games, lifecycle management for existing titles and the publishing of third-party content. Mr. Helioui joined from TA Associates, a global growth equity firm, where he covered the technology space from 2009 through May 2012 and was notably involved in that company's investment in Bigpoint. He had previously served at UBS advising technology companies across Europe on capital raising and M&A considerations.

"I am really proud and honored to have the trust of company founder Heiko Hubertz and our supervisory board. In face of the transition within the industry, Bigpoint has undergone a number of changes over the last year. I am confident that with our new organization, our fantastic staff and our renewed focus on the core of what Bigpoint really is, our games, we are going to drive the next phase of online gaming with content of unprecedented quality and genuinely innovative design," says Khaled Helioui, managing director of Bigpoint.  

Heiko Hubertz, founder and chairman of the board of Bigpoint, said: "Khaled has a passion for gaming, really understands what makes Bigpoint unique and has proven to be a great leader for Bigpoint as CGO. We are very pleased to have him guide the company going forward."

The COO, Christian Unger, had held the post on an interim basis and left the company in good standing after a planned seven month stint, effective January 31, 2013, to become managing director at Partners Group AG.

About Bigpoint:

Bigpoint (http://www.bigpoint.com) is Europe´s leading online game developer, publisher and content provider for more than 1,000 global distribution partners. Bigpoint's free-to-play games are played by over 300 million registered users in over 25 languages. Employees from over 35 different nations work at the company headquarters in Hamburg (Germany) and at other locations such as Berlin, San Francisco and Paris.

The company's portfolio include high quality casual games titles like Farmerama, Rising Cities and Skyrama as well as core titles like Drakensang Online, Battlestar Galactica Online and Dark Orbit.

Bigpoint's many distinctions in the industry include the European Business Award 2011, the MMO of the Year 2012 for Drakensang Online, the Mashable Best Online Game Award for "Farmerama" as well as the MTV Skyscraper Award for extraordinary achievement in game development. For more information and press material, please visit the press area at http://www.bigpoint.net.

Press contact
Nico Bouguerra
Bigpoint GmbH
Corporate Communications Manager
Drehbahn 47-48
20354 Hamburg, Germany
E: +49-40-88-1413-0
T: [email protected]

Janine Griffel
Griffel & Co Kommunikation GmbH
Forsmannstr. 8b
22303 Hamburg, Germany
E: [email protected]
T: +49-40-6094586-00

A picture accompanying this release is available in the AP PhotoExpress feed using ref# PRN1

SOURCE Bigpoint GmbH