Kicking off in Seattle, WA today, an industry “must be at”, the Casual Connect Conference is sure to be packed with tasty news items from today, and tomorrow’s state of casual. Wasting no time, Slingo Inc. is first out of the gate by making the official announcement of their appointment of a new CEO: Former PlayFirst VP of Business Development and Sales, Rich Roberts.
Slingo Inc. may or may not be a name you’re familiar with, but chances are if you played a game at America Online, AC Coin and Slot, IGT, Funkitron, Scientific Games, PixelPlay, and/or Oberon-Media, you’ve played one of Slingo’s developments. And with such clients already in the books, Roberts steps into some large shoes at the head of Slingo. He’s replacing longtime owner and founder Sal Falciglia Sr., who will still stay involved in the company’s casino-related operations.
“After 16 years as the CEO of Slingo, Inc., I am happy to pass the torch to Rich and I am excited to have someone with his experience and talents to lead the company in its next stage of growth,” comments Falciglia.
Roberts joins the Slingo team with two decades of experience in distribution and development of branded entertainment properties. Most recently, Roberts’ was VP of Business Development and Sales with PlayFirst where he grew the company through branded entertainment and distribution. According to PlayFirst, Roberts was one of the first to integrate social media technologies into downloadable games. Prior to PlayFirst, Roberts headed up new distribution and publishing options while with Atari and Hasbro Games. His focus has continually been on embracing new technologies and leveraging them to usher in new distribution methods. “Rich is the perfect addition to the executive team at Slingo and we are excited to have him as part of the team,” said Eric Lamendola, general manager of Slingo, Inc. “His knowledge and expertise in high-quality digital branded entertainment will allow him to create and execute a strategic vision that supports all of our platforms and cross-media endeavors.”
Prior to the gaming industry, Roberts was responsible for launching over 200 software titles with academic publishers Simon & Schuster/Macmillian.
“Slingo, Inc. is a mark of excellence in branded entertainment within the games industry and has fifteen years of experience in delivering fun community-based games,” said Mr. Roberts. “Slingo, Inc. is a company that has successfully delivered content across every media from online, to casinos, to television and holds one of the few brands that are consistently successful on every platform.”
