Bob Picunko named director, business development and production for
Buena Vista Games
Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment arm of
The Walt Disney Company announced today that Bob Picunko has been named
Director, Business Development and Production. Reporting to Michael
Ryder, VP of Worldwide Production for Buena Vista Games, Picunko will
be responsible for strengthening relationships with video game developers
and content creators. He will focus on assessing new game concepts for
the company and drive the process of identifying, developing and growing
new strategic business relationships with independent developers. Prior
to this role, Picunko spent more than three years as Director of Marketing
at the company.
"We are pleased to announce the creation of this new and important
role at BVG," said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general
manager, Buena Vista Games, Inc. "Bob's extensive knowledge of
the industry and experience in developing game franchises over the years
are an asset to the future growth and success of the BVG product portfolio."
"We want to make BVG a creative force in the game industry by
establishing close relationships with the remarkable talent within the
development community," said Picunko.
Bob Picunko brings more than 14 years of video game industry experience
and 18 years of marketing experience to his new role with Buena Vista
Games. To date, Picunko has worked with a number of past and current
high profile Disney properties, including Kingdom Hearts, TRON 2.0:
Killer App, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of
the Caribbean, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Additionally, tenures with Interplay
Entertainment Corp., Griffin-Bacal/DDB for Hasbro Interactive and Acclaim
Entertainment have seen Picunko responsible for more than 100 licensed
and original properties, including Mortal Kombat(R), Turok(R), RollerCoaster
Tycoon(TM), Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn(TM), Fallout Tactics, ESPN
and all sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR), Batman, Spiderman,
Monopoly(R), Tonka(R), WWF Warzone(TM), Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons,
Terminator 2: Judgment Day and The Simpsons.
About Buena Vista Games
Buena Vista Games, Inc. is the interactive entertainment arm of The
Walt Disney Company's Consumer Products business unit. The division
publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of PC and multi-platform
video games worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works
directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products
for all ages to market. Titles for Buena Vista Games fall under two
publishing labels: Buena Vista Interactive, which publishes high-profile,
multi-platform games based on creative content from the numerous businesses
within The Walt Disney Company as well as new intellectual properties,
and Disney Interactive, which publishes the company's interactive entertainment
based on Disney branded properties.
