At Casual Connect Europe, Kushnir shared his insights into coming changes and trends in the games industry and how these can be incorporated into future planning.
Elad Kushnir, Vice-President of Business Development at Playtika, joined the mobile industry in 2008. Kushnir has come to understand the immense opportunity for growth and profit in this niche.
Gold Rush!
He describes his experience in the games industry as being part of a gold rush. He asserts, “Technology has democratized the gaming industry, allowing for anyone from anywhere to become a relevant contender. The industry is global by definition, is run by smart individuals, and its goal is to entertain.” He feels this is the perfect mix of industry characteristics to drive his passion.
Shopping for the Next Big Thing
Early in 2013, he was invited to join the Playtika team by founder and CEO, Robert Antokol. Kushnir immediately connected to their vision and knew he wanted to be a part of it. He is now responsible for all mergers and acquisitions, as well as establishing strategic partnerships. Running M&A for the world’s most successful social casino company is a plumb job during a gold rush! Some of Playtika’s most successful acquisitions in the past year were Buffalo Studios and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) app acquired from Electronic Arts. In 2014, Elad plans to push forward with even more acquisitions to enhance Playtika’s market leadership position by adding increased scale and new types of content to the Playtika games portfolio.
Always Learning
Kushinir’s career has seen him involved as an entrepreneur in many different businesses, both large and small, where he gained the tools to understand what is necessary for a company to be successful. He uses this experience every day while identifying and following through on new merger and acquisition deals. He describes himself as a “fanatical learner,” and he works hard to keep up with what is happening in many different industries and on a variety subjects, only some of which are directly related to his professional pursuits. Currently, Elad is playing BeJumbled by 2K, and that tricky game satisfies his craving for a mental challenge even during his “downtime”.
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