Double Fusion Gets Former EA Exec As European Director

Officials from in-game advertising firm Double Fusion have announced the appointment of former Electronic Arts executive Frank Sagnier as the company's European Managing Director. A statement announcing Sagnier's new role described the appointment as "a clear indication of the aggressive growth plans Double Fusion has for Europe". Sagnier's appointment follows yesterday's announced multi-title deal between Double Fusion and major publisher THQ, granting the ad firm in-game ad rights for "a number of THQ's highly anticipated titles", including new iterations of the Juiced, MX vs ATV and Stuntman franchises. Sagnier joins the company from Electronic Arts, where he served as the company's European vice president of online publishing and focused on major brands such as The Sims, FIFA, and Harry Potter before establishing the EA Partners European business division. He also helped launch EA's casual game portal Pogo in the UK and Germany, as well as services for PC digital distribution service and dynamic in-game advertising. Double Fusion's appointment of Sagnier marks the second EA executive to join the firm in recent months. In August 2006, the company announced the appointment of former EA executive Julie Shumaker as Double Fusion's vice president of worldwide sales. “Frank has been a major force within the European publishing scene for the past 12 years. His knowledge of the key players, and the machinations of the European publishing scene, will obviously help us to fast track our efforts in Europe. This is going to be a very exciting year for Double Fusion,” commented Double Fusion CEO and president Jonathan Epstein.