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☆ Netflix gaming exec reveals a new AI role after the shutdown of a buzzy games studio and layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Verdu, Netflix's former games chief, is now leading AI-driven game development. Netflix's games division, launched in 2021, has faced shifts and leadership changes. AdvertisementMike Verdu, Netflix's former games chief, has moved into a new role: he's now leading a generative AI gaming division at the streaming giant. Netflix launched a games division in 2021. He wrote that after Netflix games started to scale up, he recognized his strength was in running smaller teams.

Persons: Mike Verdu, —, he's, Verdu, he'd, Alain Tascan, Greg Peters, Netflix's, there's, We've, Verdu didn't Organizations: Service, LinkedIn, Netflix, Epic Games

☆ Netflix's new gaming chief shakes up the division with a hire from Epic and layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Netflix's new games president, Alain Tascan, appointed Jeet Shroff as VP of games tech. Shroff, like Tascan, came from Epic Games, where he was VP of games development. Netflix's games division conducted layoffs last week. And only a tiny percent of Netflix's subscribers had played its games as of 2023, per data from analytics firm Apptopia. He added that while games' impact on the business is small, it's also a small part of Netflix's content investment overall.

Persons: Alain Tascan, Jeet Shroff, Shroff, —, he's, Tascan, Mike Verdu, Greg Peters, Peters, it's, Netflix hasn't Organizations: Epic, Netflix, Service, Epic Games

☆ Elon Musk's payday drama comes to a head today
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It's always sunny at Business Insider when "Welcome to Wrexham" star Rob McElhenney is around. In today's big story, we're looking at the drama between Tesla shareholders over Elon Musk's bumper pay package that gets decided on today . As funny as that sounds, the battle over Elon Musk's pay package is no joke. One longtime Tesla investor said the EV maker is " kind of the bottom of the pecking pole of Elon's companies ." Vote here on if you're for or against Musk's pay package .

Persons: —, Rob McElhenney, Elon, Apu Gomes, Chelsea Jia Feng, Insider's Grace Kay, they're, he's, Brooks Kraft, Musk, it's, Gwynne Shotwell, Somodevilla, Blackstone, Dan Ives, Araya Doheny, Patrick Fallon, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Henrik, Fisker, VCs, that's, whittle, Mark Zuckerberg, de Haro, Gen Zers, Mike Verdu, Slack, Brad Smith, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Elon, Getty, Retail, Brooks Kraft LLC, Nvidia, Tesla, Wall, SpaceX, Federal Reserve, Big Apple, Apple, Microsoft, BI, Adobe Locations: Wrexham, Delaware, Tesla, Manhattan, New York, London

☆ Netflix aims to 'crawl, walk, run' when it comes to video games. It's still crawling
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Drew Richardson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Former Electronic Arts mobile gaming executive Mike Verdu joined Netflix as vice president of game development in 2021. Getting existing subscribers to download and play mobile games is a challenge, though, Benes noted. As of September 2023, Netflix's games have been downloaded 70.5 million times, globally, according to data obtained from Apptopia. The beta rollout to limited users Canada and the U.K. included Oxenfree from Night School Studio, a Netflix game studio, and Molehew's Mining Adventure, a gem-mining arcade game. But Netflix is not looking to be a console replacement, Netflix gaming executive Verdu previously told Tech Crunch.

Persons: It's, we've, Greg Peters, Ross Benes, Mike Verdu, Joseph Staten, Benes, Netflix's, Playrix, Candy Crush, King, Peters, Sunny Dhillon, Kyber Knight, Dhillon, Verdu Organizations: Netflix, Intelligence, Electronic Arts, AAA, Night School, Street, Tech, CNBC Locations: Canada

☆ Netflix to make its games playable on more devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoAug 14 (Reuters) - Netflix (NFLX.O) will test games on select TVs and computers in a first step to make them playable on more devices, the company's vice president of Games Mike Verdu wrote in a blog post on Monday. The streaming platform had begun its push into the gaming experience by launching Netflix games on mobiles in November 2021. "Oxenfree" from Night School Studio, a Netflix Game Studio, and "Molehew's Mining Adventure", a gem-mining arcade game, will be part of the initial testing. "By making games available on more devices, we hope to make games even easier to play for our members around the world," Verdu said. Netflix said games on TV will operate on select devices from initial partners Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players, Chromecast with Google TV and Roku devices, among others.

Persons: Mike Blake, Mike Verdu, Verdu, Samrhitha, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Netflix, REUTERS, Night School, Amazon, Google, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, Canada, United Kingdom, Bengaluru

☆ Inside Netflix's growing M&A machine, who's leading it, and what insiders think the streamer could buy next
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It then delved further into M&A to kickstart its games business. And the streamer hasn't completely abandoned its build-from-within strategy, as it also announced plans last fall to build its own gaming studio in Finland. He recently was elevated to the Lstaff, a group of 25 Netflix business heads who debate its biggest initiatives. (Netflix ended up doing a partnership in 2019 with that company, Studio Dragon, and its parent CJ ENM.) But leadership has been steadfast that Netflix's M&A mantra hasn't changed.

Persons: Here's, Reed Hastings, It's, it's, who's, what's, Roald Dahl, Dahl, Peter Rabbit, Spry, Harry Potter, execs, Spencer Wang, Michael Porter, Spencer Neumann, who'd, Neumann, Wang, Greg Peters, Ted Sarandos, Bela Bajaria, Scott Stuber, Mike Verdu, Jay MacDonald, Digiday, Ana Milicevic, Hastings, Sarandos, CJ ENM, Mario Organizations: Netflix, stoke, Paramount, Night School, Spry Fox, Disney, Warner Bros, DC Comics, Digital Capital Advisors, MLB, Surf League, Street Journal, Microsoft, Sparrow Advisers, MGM, Amazon, Mario Bros, Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, UBS Locations: Finland, New Jersey, Hollywood

☆ Meet Netflix's elite 'Lstaff' — the 25 top execs who help make the company's biggest decisions, from its push into advertising to its gaming expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lucia Moses | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Netflix has a top team of business leaders who debate and drive the company's biggest decisions. This "Lstaff" includes co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos plus execs leading new areas like gaming and ads. When Netflix is faced with a big, agenda-setting decision, it convenes a special team of business heads to debate the issue at hand. This group, which numbers 25, has helped shape major company moves like its expansion into mobile games and advertising. Scroll down to read about the people on Netflix's Lstaff, listed in alphabetical order, and the perspective each brings.

Persons: Greg Peters, Ted Sarandos, —, Reed Hastings, Bela Bajaria, Scott Stuber, Kim —, Vernā Myers, Jeremi Gorman, Mike Verdu, Spencer Wang Organizations: Netflix, New Zealand Locations: Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New

Insider identified 75 of the most powerful execs at the streamer, in an interactive org chart. Product chief Greg Peters took on additional duties as chief operating officer and has since broadened his purview to include gaming. Former PepsiCo exec Sergio Ezama joined in 2021 to become Netflix's chief talent officer. Insider identified 75 of the most powerful executives now at Netflix. They include C-suite executives finance chief Spencer Neumann, as well as business leads like Bajaria and movie boss Scott Stuber.

☆ How Netflix has changed the global entertainment industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Since Netflix began its worldwide expansion in 2016, the streaming service has rewritten the playbook for global entertainment — from TV to film, and, more recently, video games. Still, Netflix's impact on the global TV industry is undeniable. More on Netflix's effect on global TV:The streamer's executive team was rebuilt with a global focusIn recent years, Netflix reoriented its leadership around its new global model. Peters also hired a new talent chief with international experience, former PepsiCo executive Sergio Ezama, to lead Netflix's global workforce. More on Netflix's corporate structure:Netflix has seen its first wide layoffs, though it continues to growThe corporate restructuring hasn't been without obstacles.

☆ Netflix has an elite 'Lstaff' team of 25 execs who help make the company's biggest decisions. Here are its members, from the streamer's content chief to partnership leads.
▼ + stars: | 2021-09-09 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Netflix has a special team of business leaders who debate and drive the company's biggest decisions. This "Lstaff" helped shape moves like the decisions to open a Canada office and invest capital in Black-led banks. Meet the 25 Netflix execs who make up the Lstaff below. When Netflix is faced with a big, agenda-setting decision, it convenes a special team of business heads to debate the issue at hand. Scroll down to read about the people on Netflix's Lstaff, listed in alphabetical order, and the perspective each brings.

Persons: Netflix execs, —, Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters, Reed Hastings, Bela Bajaria, Scott Stuber, Kim —, Vernā Myers, Jeremi Gorman, Mike Verdu, Spencer Wang Organizations: Netflix, New Zealand Locations: Canada, Black, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New

Netflix has overhauled key leadership, naming a co-CEO, talent chief, and heads of TV and marketing. Insider identified 71 of the most powerful execs at the streamer, in an interactive org chart. Insider identified the 71 of the most powerful executives now at Netflix, following the recent executive changes. Netflix has many leaders — not all of whom are included here — but the chart below gives an inside look at who to watch in 2021. The executive shuffle came as Netflix's global audience reached 209 million paid subscribers in March, driven mainly by international viewers.

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