Mod MMG
 Mod MMG | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Jagex | |||||||||||||||||||
| Role | CEO | ||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Leadership | ||||||||||||||||||
| Project | ? (edit) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Employed | 1 February 2008 ─ 12 December 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||
Mark Gerhard, also known as Mod MMG, was the Chief Executive Officer of Jagex from 1 February 2009 to 12 December 2014.[1] On 11 September 2014, Mod MMG announced that he would be leaving Jagex at the end of the year.[2] Originally intended to continue as CEO until his departure on 12 December,[3] he was eventually on garden leave by 4 October that year.[4]
Before becoming the CEO of Jagex, Mod MMG was its Chief Technical Officer.[5]
Employment with Jagex
[edit | edit source]As Chief Technical Officer
[edit | edit source]Mod MMG gave a short account on the RuneScape Forums about how he came to join Jagex as CTO.
| “ | I heard about the vacancy for a CTO (Chief Technical Officer) at Jagex, but I was also looking at other roles around that time. I tried the game to better understand what Jagex did and was really impressed with the technology and game – the more I found out about Jagex like the platform, proprietary in-house tools, languages and systems, the more I was intrigued. I had a 3 hour interview with Andrew [Gower] which ended up being an in-depth IT Security debate and suffice to say I was blown away to learn that Jagex’s approach to IT Security was more rigorous than some of the banks I had consulted for or even the lottery systems we had architected. I instantly realised this was an incredible company with so many high calibre staff at the very cutting edge of so many technology fronts - I just simply had to work for Jagex. | ” |
| — Mod MMG, [6] | ||
As Chief Executive Officer
[edit | edit source]When Mod MMG became the CEO of Jagex, he stated that non-members will also receive updates in the future. For example, as of April 2009, non-members were permitted access to the RuneScape Forums provided they had 12.5 million total experience.[7] In August 2009, Mod MMG confirmed that RuneScape's next skill will be for all players (non-members and members).[8]
He had announced many upcoming updates in his Clan chat. He explained that Jagex is working on a major "forum rewrite."[source needed] On the RuneScape Forums, he has also posted that he was considering making Fletching a non-member skill.[source needed] He had promised new content for higher levels and an update for the Magic skill to balance magic (which he believes is underpowered) with other combat skills.[source needed]
Mod MMG had made promises saying that he will make sure Jagex will become a less secretive company. The "Rants" forum was reinstated under his leadership in March 2009, along with an apology for removing it at all.[9] His arrival also led to Jagex being more open with popular fansites for the first time since Andrew Gower's link with tip.it.
On 30 October 2009, Gerhard collected the Golden Joystick Award on behalf of Jagex,[10] who had been named Amiqus games UK developer of the year.[11]
In early 2014, Gerhard reduced his active leadership in the company to focus on Transformers Universe, but was put on garden leave before he was able to launch the game.[3]
Media appearances
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Jagex Appoints Mark Gerhard as Chief Executive Officer. Press Releases. Jagex. (Archived from the original on 2009-02-02.) "UK, Cambridge, 30th January, 2009 – Jagex today announced the appointment of Mark Gerhard as the new Chief Executive Officer following the resignation of Geoff Iddison earlier this month. Mark Gerhard, who currently serves as the Chief Technical Officer at Jagex, has been appointed to lead the company from 1st February."
- ^ Batchelor, James. Gerhard leaving Jagex. Develop Online. (Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.)
- ^ a b Jagex. This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now. (Microtransactions and the Future). Reddit. (Archived from the original on 13 June 2015.) "I actually tendered my resignation to the Board on the 12th December 2013. I had a 1 year contractual notice period which I fully planned to serve to the best of my ability through to the 12th December 2014."
- ^ Jagex. Mod MMG's Twitter account. 4 October 2014. (Archived from the original on 1 January 2015.) Mod MMG: "I'm now officially on "Garden Leave" until the end of the year."
- ^ Mod MMG. Answers from Mark Gerhard. News & Announcements Forums. (Archived from the original on 24 August 2009.)
- ^ Mod MMG. Even more answers....... News & Annoucements Forums. (Archived from the original on 14 August 2009.)
- ^ Mod Kelvin. "Free player forum access." 9 April 2009. RuneScape News.
- ^ Mod MMG. "Mark Gerhard's Answers." (Archived from the original on 6 August 2009.) Developers' Blogs.
- ^ Mod MMG. "Rants forum returns." 31 March 2009. RuneScape News.
- ^ "The Gadget Show: Golden Joysticks 2009." (3:30-3:50), YouTube video.
- ^ Best UK dev named. Golden Joystick Awards 2009. Future Publishing Limited. (Archived from the original on 4 November 2009.) "One of the surprises of the show was who you lot named Best UK Developer. ... the best UK dev went to Jagex. While the name might not immediately ring any bells, it's the studio behind the incredibly popular free-to-play MMO RuneScape. In fact it hold a Guinness World Record for the world's most popular free MMO."
External links
[edit | edit source]- Interview with Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard
| Predecessor | Title | Successor |
|---|---|---|
| Geoff Iddison | Chief Executive Officer | Rod Cousens |
| Current |
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