Richie Shoemaker and Steve Charnock join the PC gaming and tech publishing house after significant investor funding was provided to support a large-scale recruitment campaign, say the publishers.
Their appointments also follow the news of former Dennis Publishing editorial director joining the team in April as editorial director across all BGFG brands.
Richie Shoemaker has been writing and editing gaming content for nearly 25 years for brands such as PC Zone and CVG, as well as through freelance contracts on sites such as IGN and Eurogamer.
More recently, he’s been involved in the publishing side of things, consulting on various titles for the likes of Ubisoft, and developing community-focused content for companies such as CCP Games, EA Sports and My.com.
In his new role, Richie will be editor of the firm’s online brand gamingverdict.com and will be responsible for overseeing the site’s content creation, developing and managing the strategy to ensure the highest quality and most relevant content is shared with readers, says BGFG.
He will also develop and support the existing team with a view to ensuring Gaming Verdict enhances its presence within the gaming industry.
Richie said: “Games journalism is my first love and it’s something I’ve missed, so the chance to come out from the publishing shadows is a massive attraction. The fact that BGFG is a young and ambitious company that appreciates the value of experience, creativity and persistence also helps.
“Starting on something new is always exciting but getting to know the BGFG team and growing alongside them is what I’m most excited about. I’ve worked on enough editorial projects to know that when you have a bunch of people who know, love and believe in what they’re doing, great things always happen.”
Steve Charnock, a chartered accountant and successful investor who advised BGFG on their recent investment round, has agreed to be a non-executive director and oversee the finance function.
As the co-founder of Cenkos Fund Managers and Seneca Partners, he has a wealth of experience in supporting the growth of ambitious companies and providing sound financial direction.
He will use his knowledge and experience to lead the firm through the next stage of its recruitment campaign and advise on what is needed for the firm to achieve its global expansion ambitions.
Steve said: “When I met Craig, Andrew and Will I immediately liked their enthusiasm and ambition, as well as the growth potential of BGFG.
“Having a quality management team and a company that has the potential to grow rapidly is an exciting combination. I believe I can help BGFG on this growth journey and I am looking forward to being part of this excellent management team.”
By Gamers for Gamers was founded in April 2019 by brothers Andrew and Craig Kirkcaldy and Will Blears.
Commenting on the appointments, co-founder Craig Kirkcaldy said: “Over the course of the last few months, we’ve been able to provide a number of career opportunities to people across the North, and now we’re in a position where we can focus on growing our senior leadership team.
“Both Richard and Steve are experts in their field and we’re over the moon to welcome them to the team.
“Richard brings with him over 25 years in the sector and some fantastic experience in the wider Gaming niche, which will help us build out our consumer-focused gaming sites.
“Steve brings with him a wealth of corporate and finance experience which will support us in scaling BGFG.”
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