Management

Alexander Lyskovsky, President

Alexander Lyskovsky graduated from Novosibirsk State University with a Master's Degree in Computer Science. While studying, he worked on an interactive system for regional and transoceanic calculations of tsunami isochrones and geophysical model studies. In 1997, he left the field of science for the computer games industry. In 1999, the company he founded became Alawar Entertainment, one of the world's leading publishers of casual games. Today, Mr. Lyskovsky is in charge of strategic planning and tactical operations.

Mr. Lyskovsky is also the co-founder and chairman of the board of the Independent Software Developers Forum (ISDEF), a major Eastern European association of software developers, distributors and publishers; an organizer of CGA Europe: East, the first specialized conference in Eastern Europe dedicated to the casual games industry; and a member of the board of the Game Developers Club, an organization uniting the leading specialists affecting the development of the electronic game industry in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Sergey Zanin, Vice-President

Sergey Zanin is one of the co-founders of Alawar Entertainment, with ten years of experience in the electronic game industry. He graduated from Novosibirsk State University and holds a Master's Degree in Economics and Finances. Before he founded Alawar, he acquired considerable experience in banking and commerce.

Currently, Mr. Zanin holds the position of vice president at Alawar, and guides the development of the company's CD department. Under his direction, the division has established long term contacts with more than 30 publishers in 25 countries, and distributes about 500,000 CDs sporting the Alawar logo each year. Mr. Zanin also helps the developers of larger games publish their titles on CD.

Andrey Postnikov, COO

Andrey Postnikov has been the head of Alawar Entertainment's Internet publishing department since June 2002. Since then, the company has published more than 100 casual games by external developers, established partnerships with all of the leading online distributors and become the world's key publisher of casual games. The Magic Ball series, recognized as offering the best 3D Breakout action available, was produced and published under Mr. Postnikov's direct guidance. Before joining to Alawar, Andrey worked as the head of production at a leading printing house specializing in the creation of forms used in accounting. Mr. Postnikov graduated from Novosibirsk State Technical University, Aircraft Faculty, with a degree in aircraft.

Valentin Merzlikin, director of digital distribution

Valentin Merzlikin joined Alawar Entertainment as Digital Distribution Manager in 2006. In 2008, Valentin was appointed Digital Distribution Director of Alawar. Today, Mr. Merzlikin heads the department responsible for licensing Alawar's game catalog to online distributors. Thanks to Valentin's efforts, Alawar currently has a working relationship with more than 60 online distributors around the world. Prior to joining Alawar, Mr. Merzlikin worked as a Business Development Director in the telecommunications industry and founded casual game developer Exclusive Games, which Alawar subsequently acquired. Valentin graduated from Novosibirsk State University and holds a Masters degree in Economics.

Roman Polyak, Business Development Director

Roman Polyak joined Alawar Entertainment in 2002 as Operations Director of one of Alawar's affiliated companies. Since 2004, he's held the position of Business Development Director. During two-and-a-half years of intense work, Mr. Polyak created the Russian casual games market from scratch and turned it into one of the most dynamically developing local casual games market worldwide. Today, the growth of the Eastern European market exceeds 500% each year. Due to Mr. Polyak's efforts, Alawar has published casual games in Israel, Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine and other East European countries.

David Laprad, Head of the U.S. department

David Laprad has led Alawar Entertainment's U.S. department since June 2004. He also serves as the editor-in-chief of The Adrenaline Vault, a popular online magazine covering computer and video games. His responsibilities for Alawar include public relations, assisting with marketing content and establishing contact with major game portals and other potential partners. Mr. Laprad graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in journalism and lives near Nashville, Tennessee.

Helen Kovaleva, Licensing Manager

Helen Kovaleva has held the position of Licensing Manager at Alawar Entertainment since 2001. During her time with the company, Helen has compiled a library of more than 200 casual games available for licensing. The collection includes arcade games, Breakout offerings, match-three releases, puzzle titles, computer versions of popular table games and more. The products can be licensed for publication on CD either alone or as part of a collection. Over the last three years, Helen has sold about 600 CD licenses in 20 countries. Ms. Kovaleva graduated from Siberian Independent Institute, where she received a degree in linguistics and cross-cultural communication.

Maxim Mehaelis, Art Director

Since autumn 2000, Maxim Mehaelis has served as lead game designer at Alawar Entertainment. In 2001, he was appointed head of the design department and became art director for the company. This involved supervising the development of the graphics for the games Alawar created in-house. Currently, Mr. Mehaelis is also responsible for art production on all of the titles Alawar publishes. In addition, he oversees the running of websites and portals belonging to Alawar as well as the creation of promotional materials. One of his strategic objectives is to create visual brands for the most popular games from the company. He graduated from Novosibirsk Architecture Academy, Industrial Architecture Department. His pre-Alawar job experience included design work in packaging, advertising and small architectural forms. Maxim has ten years of professional experience in design and design teams management.

Kirill Plotnikov, VP of Publishing

Kirill Plotnikov started his career as a game producer with Alawar in April 2003. It took him one year to move up from Producer Assistant to Head of Game Producing. So far, he's produced more than 90 games for Alawar, most of which were a financial success. His hits includes the The Treasures of Montezuma, Stand o' Food, Farm Frenzy, Farm Frenzy 2, Natalie Brooks - Secrets of Treasure House, Beach Party Craze, Pet Show Craze, Sprill - The Mystery of The Bermuda Triangle, Virtual Farm, The Treasures Of Mystery Island and other well known titles. Mr. Plotnikov graduated from Novosibirsk State University, the Mechanical and Mathematical Faculty, with a degree in programming.

Tatiana Chernova, Director of Marketing Communications and PR

Tatiana Chernova joined Alawar Entertainment in September 2004. In the beginning, she was responsible for game localizations and translations. Since 2006, she's served as public relations manager for the company. Today, she holds the position of Director of Marketing Communications and PR. Her responsibilities include soliciting coverage of the company's projects through the mass media and the strategic planning of PR campaigns. Additional duties include the planning and organization of Alawar’s participation in exhibitions, conferences and other events. Moreover, Ms. Chernova serves as PR Advisor of the Casual Games Association (CGA). She's also responsible for coverage of CGA activity in East European mass media and the organization of CGA Europe: East — the first specialized conference in Eastern Europe dedicated to the casual games industry. Tatiana holds a Master’s Degree in Linguistics from Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University and a second Master’s Degree in Economics and Management from Novosibirsk State University. Before coming to Alawar, she worked as a TV journalist and the host of a program featuring notable stories about city life in Russia.