Quazal Announces Prominent New Hires, Funding

Montreal, Quebec-headquartered Quazal, developer of the Net-Z and Rendez-Vous middleware for online games, have announced new hires in management, as well as a new round of strategic investment in the company. The first of the two new managers is Henry Ryan, the company's Chief Operating Officer. Ryan previously served as EA.com's Director of Engineering and Operations. "In the short period of time I have been at Quazal, I have found Quazal, the individuals within it, and the position to exceed my expectations." said Ryan. "Being inside Quazal, it is easy to see how this company has achieved what it has over the last seven years. It's a great honor to join its leadership team and have the opportunity to build on its success." Next is Jean LaChance, Quazal's new Vice President of Sales. LaChance was previously VP of Sales at Kaydara, a motion-capture and animation firm, which was acquired by Alias in 2004. "I am very pleased to join Quazal," said LaChance, "and help position the company for rapid growth and expand its leadership in the middleware community through a framework of accountability and strong sales processes." Finally, Quazal has closed another round of strategic investment, with a new influx of capital from Collar Capital, La Caisse de Dépôt et de Placement du Québec, Fondaction CSN and Viavar Capital. The company did not disclose the size of the new investment, but said it would use the money to accelerate development of its middleware product, which is in higher demand due to the expanding multiplayer online game market.