SMU Guildhall's Mark Nausha to Join EGENCY as President
DALLAS, April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- When EGENCY was looking to expand its leadership team, the company knew Mark Nausha, a noted game developer, online community builder, entrepreneur and current Deputy Director of the Game Lab at Southern Methodist University Guildhall, would be the perfect fit.
Nausha provided invaluable insight on collegiate esports for EGENCY'S OP Live Dallas esports event in 2018, as well as the importance of expanding opportunities, support, education and gaming communities for students interested in esports. These sentiments, along with Nausha's passion for building partnerships to benefit the gaming community, resonated with EGENCY's leadership team, including CEO Greg Skasko.
Skasko, an expert in corporate sponsorships and strategic marketing who spent 11 years in director and AVP roles at AT&T, believes the bridging of his and Nausha's collective backgrounds will help propel EGENCY'S aggressive plans for the future.
As Skasko explains, "I come from a corporate sponsorship background and Mark's prestigious career includes leadership roles as a noted game developer and community builder, as well as extensive experience on the university side. Combining our areas of expertise will play a major role in the success of the company going forward, as well as our focus, which is to build out a 'sandbox' for esports where the gaming community is encouraged to innovate and create the future of new media."
Nausha's impressive career includes numerous accomplishments. He has shipped more than 70 titles commercially in the gaming industry, generating billions of dollars in revenue over his 27-year career.
He has been with SMU Guildhall since 2012, initially joining the program as a member of the production faculty.
Says Nausha, "My strengths are in team building and best practices for video game development. Eventually I started running classes in production and team game production. I was only going to be there a year, but I fell in love with it."
Nausha's stamp on SMU Guildhall and Game Lab is hard to deny. During his tenure, the program has gone from a top 10 to the No. 1 graduate program for game development in the world and was the first to publish student projects. As Deputy Director of Game Lab, Nausha has also been active arranging internships for students, running local events and becoming a sought after thought leader in the industry. He has also spearheaded an initiative to develop esports classes that will qualify for a certificate at SMU.
The UCLA grad and passionate gamer grew up cutting his teeth around entrepreneurs and was recruited into leadership roles at an early age. During his career, Nausha has worked in a variety of executive producer and director roles for gaming industry innovators, including SEGA, Interplay Entertainment, Sony Online and Acaji, Inc.
From 1996-2005, Nausha ran his own game development studio Point of View, Inc. with two other developers, eventually growing the company to 80 employees. He later launched Stray Bullet Games, a development company in Austin, Texas. A desire to guide the next generation of leaders in gaming prompted his move to SMU Guildhall.
After he joins EGENCY, Nausha will continue to play a role at SMU Guildhall as an adjunct professor. His expertise and passion for gaming and esports at the university level - and empowering his students - will be a vital asset as he assumes the role of President at EGENCY.
According to Skasko, "At EGENCY, everything we do is for the betterment of the community, gamers and students, and Mark lives that philosophy. As a company, we also understand that brands need to connect with the community in a meaningful way and be a relevant part of the conversation. Making a positive impact on the community and the issues that are important to customers is essential in marketing today."
To learn how you or your organization can tap into opportunities in the rapidly evolving esports ecosystem, please visit http://www.egency.gg or call 972-323-6354 to speak with an EGENCY esports expert today.
About EGENCY:
EGENCY is one of the most experienced esports firms in North America, offering a full suite of services from event production, customer/fan engagement, sponsorship and talent marketing to data analytics, media and strategic marketing. EGENCY is the leading strategic advisor in helping brands, event and media properties, and teams looking to navigate and capitalize on the rapidly expanding esports ecosystem.
SOURCE EGENCY
