Sega Europe’s former president Jurgen Post has made a comeback, returning to the role after his departure in 2017.
This comes as major leadership shifts are occurring at Sega Europe including two big departures. President and COO Gary Dale is stepping down, as is chief studio officer Tim Heaton.
Leadership changes
Post marked his return to Sega yesterday, January 2, as COO of West Studios and regional managing director, as per GamesIndustry.biz. He first served as Sega Europe’s president and COO in 2012, holding the position through a “period of exponential growth” until he made the move to Tencent in 2017.
There, Post served as president of international partnerships for Europe until 2020, when he transitioned into the CEO role at Tencent-owned Miniclip. And, more recently, Post’s vast industry impact has included a non-executive director role at Hiro Metaverse Acquisitions and a chairman of the board appointment at Frameplay.
Now Post has returned to Sega with a new wealth of experience, though longtime execs Dale and Heaton are making their departure.
Before Sega Europe, Dale held titles across the entertainment sector from the likes of Capcom and Take-Two Interactive to Aardman Animation and The Walt Disney Company.
Heaton, meanwhile, worked with Sega for well over a decade – starting out as Creative Assembly studio director in 2009 before rising into leadership roles since Post’s original departure. Prior to joining Sega, Heaton was senior development director at EA.
Sega has thanked both Dale and Heaton for their impacts on the company.
A new landscape
Of course, one of Sega’s most notable changes since Post’s last position with the company is its new subsidiary Rovio. The Angry Birds creator joined Sega’s nest after a $775 million acquisition in 2023, with Sega’s plans to leverage Rovio’s mobile gaming experience an overt benefit of the deal.
A “Rovio x Sega” mobile game has already been teased, as has the “Segaverse“, discussed in Helsinki at RovioCon 23.
