Business
SilverBirch Appoints New President and CEO as Company Refocuses Exclusively On Gaming
- New CEO brings extensive global marketing experience - Strategic shift leverages company's core...
About this update from Silver Bull Resources, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n- New CEO brings extensive global marketing experience\n- Strategic shift leverages company's core strengths in the fast-\n growing gaming sector\n\n\nTORONTO, Nov. 5 /CNW/ - SilverBirch Inc. (TSX-V:SVB), a leading digital\nentertainment company, today announced the appointment of Mr. Kevin Astle as\ninterim President and Chief Executive Officer. Under Mr. Astle, a seasoned\nbusiness and marketing strategist with extensive global experience,\nSilverBirch will refocus exclusively on the fast-growing gaming sector. Mr.\nAstle succeeds Derek van der Plaat, who resigned today as President and CEO,\nand as a Director of the company.\n\n\nThe refocused strategy leverages SilverBirch's core strengths in gaming.\nThe company's primary goal will be to become a premier publisher and operator\nof Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) as well as video games for PCs and\nleading console platforms. The new corporate focus will build upon the\ncompany's existing operations including video game developer SilverBirch\nStudios, Netherlands-based interactive entertainment publisher Lighthouse\nInteractive, and a co-venture to operate licensed English language online\nmultiplayer games. The company is also acquiring Red Mile Entertainment,\npublisher of console games Sin City and Heroes Over Europe, in a deal expected\nto close in early 2009, subject to shareholder, legal and regulatory\napprovals.\n\n\nSilverBirch has initiated a restructuring plan that is expected to\ndeliver significant savings and drive profitable revenue growth and earnings.\nThe plan's first phase has been completed with the elimination of 6 staff\npositions. SilverBirch is considering options to divest its mobile business\nand will continue to review operations of all its business units to further\nreduce costs, improve margins, and enable more strategic investment in online\nmultiplayer games and original game content development. The company's MMOG\nbusiness unit, currently comprising Metin2 and CrossFire, is expected to\ngenerate a significant portion of its future revenues and earnings. As a\nresult of these changes, the company believes the guidance on financial\nperformance issued by the previous CEO on October 1, 2008 is no longer\napplicable.\n\n\nMr. Astle is the founder of Marketing Imperatives International, a\nmarketing and management consultancy that s...