RockYou and Samsung heading to GamesBeat Summit next week

Two months ago the interactive media company RockYou raised $23 million in funding based on their strategy of running older games from publishers such as Disney and Kabam — and monetizing them by running in-game ads to the players. Just six months earlier it secured a $10 million deal.

Central to this growth and the company’s influence in the industry is RockYou CEO Lisa Marino. And it’s why we’re delighted to announce she’s now joining an outstanding roster of speakers for GamesBeat Summit next week.

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The Summit takes place May 5 and 6 at the scenic Cavallo Resort just north of San Francisco – and while the event is by invitation only for gaming industry leaders, some spots are still available.See if you qualify here.

Marino’s been with RockYou for nearly seven years, and has steadily shepherded the company to its position of being in the top 10 of ComScore’s top 100 video properties, with nearly 90 million monthly active users. No question, every step of the way, Marino’s been able to anticipate the rapid evolution of social entertainment, and understands where it’s headed next.

We’re also delighted that Mihai Pohontu, vice president of emerging platforms at Samsung, will also be an upcoming speaker at the summit. In his role, Pohontu oversees a portfolio group comprised of software publishing via the Galaxy Stores, software production, operational services, and developer relations.

He’s also passionate about the developer community and working to build a robust Samsung developer ecosystem. Indeed, Samsung has continued to release more comprehensive SDKs for their mobile devices to offer unique content to its customer base, and it’s now held two of its own developer events here in San Francisco as an investment in cultivating strong relationships with the developer community.

Prior to joining Samsung, Pohontu oversaw Product Operations at Disney Interactive where he founded the Partners group which leveraged Disney properties and franchises to produced high quality entertainment created by external studios and publishers. Prior to Disney, Mihai was the vice president and general manager of Central Development Services at Electronic Arts.

The Summit is not your typical game industry event. In closed-door working sessions, main-stage discussions with gaming visionaries, and casual social gatherings, the intimate setting creates the kind of collaboration and learning that will help leaders architect the industry going forward.

More GamesBeat Summit speakers

Nolan Bushnell, cofounder and former chief executive of Atari. Bushnell’s s a world-famous inventor, entrepreneur, and founder of more than 20 companies.  He’ll kick off the event based on our themes of “bold ideas in gaming” and transparency.Bushnell is a video game pioneer and founder of more than 20 companies.

Kent Wakeford, the chief operating officer of Kabam. Wakeford’s been strongly outspoken about the urgency for North American mobile-game developers and publishers to take their apps to Asia, which ties into one of the key themes of the summit — the need to create top gaming experiences that can cross geographic boundaries and develop loyal audiences in multiple markets.

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Peter Phillips, the executive vice president and general manager of interactive and digital distribution for Marvel Entertainment. Phillips will be shedding some light on where Marvel is headed and the best way publishers can work together with the franchise.

Adam Boyes, the head of third-party publishing at Sony Computer Entertainment America. Last year, Sony released more than 100 games from indie game developers for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita consoles and now has more than 1,000 developers licensed for self-publishing on its platforms.

Super Evil Megacorp COO Kristian Segerstrale, whose pedigree includes executive stints at Electronic Arts, Playfish, and Glu Mobile, joins us for a fireside chat session. Super Evil Megacorp has focused solely on the development of core gaming for touch devices, as evidenced with the company’s multiplayer online battle arena game Vainglory, released last November.

Kate Edwards, the executive director of the International Game Developers Association, addresses essential issues around sexism and diversity for the industry to thrive going forward.

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Yoichi Wada, the founder and CEO of Shinra Technologies, and Jacob Navok, the senior vice president of business development for Shinra, join for a fireside session. Shinra recently demoed its cloud supercomputer that breaks the one-processor, one-user model and will enable developers to create huge worlds that can measure as much as 20 miles-by-20 miles of virtual space.

David Haddad, the executive vice president and general manager of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and Peter Levin, the president of interactive media and games at Lionsgate, will be on hand for a couple of those main stage discussions.

Unity Technologies CEO John Riccitiello is also part of the GamesBeat Summit. Unity is one of the most important companies in game development thanks to its Unity game engine, a cross-platform technology that enables developers to make games for just about any device that plays them. The company recently announced its Unity 5 tools at the Game Developers Conference 2015 in San Francisco.

Few people have had as much influence on the game industry over the last 20 years as Riccitiello. He served as the chief operating officer for gaming giant EA in his first stint at the company and returned to be its CEO, helping the publisher as it became a major player in the mobile and online gaming sectors.

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Also speaking at the Summit is Thomas Hartwig, the cofounder and chief technical officer of King, one of the biggest publishers of mobile games. King was the No. 2 mobile-game publisher in the world for 2014, thanks in part to its major hit Candy Crush Saga. If you play games on your phone or tablet, chances are good that you’ve crushed some candy on it since the title’s 2012 release. And Hartwig’s role at King has helped change how we play games — and pay for them — on our mobile devices.

The focus of GamesBeat Summit is on bold ideas, the kind that will propel the industry forward, particularly in a global context. Limited to only 180 senior execs, we’re looking forward to the kind of open sharing that happens when like-minded visionaries come together.

For more info and to see if you qualify, go here. And if you can’t make it, don’t forget GamesBeat 2015 on Oct. 12-13 in San Francisco.

Thanks to our sponsors, including RockYou, Samsung, King, Supersonic, MAG, Delinquent, Hutch, GetSocial, Pollen VC, Next Games, and Flaregames.

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