Members of BIU elect new Executive Board

From left to right: Ralf Wirsing, Tobias Haar, Michael Zillmer and Dr Maximilian Schenk. Photo by Saskia Bauermeister.

• Ralf Wirsing (Ubisoft) and Michael Zillmer (Innogames) newly elected to the BIU Executive Board
• Tobias Haar (Gameforge) re-elected after two years on the Executive Board

Berlin, 2 June 2016 – Right on schedule, the members of BIU, the German Games Industry Association, have elected a new Executive Board. During the annual general meeting of the games industry association on 1 June, the new three-person Executive Board was elected for the coming two years. Tobias Haar was re-elected to the BIU Executive Board and was chosen as Board Spokesman by his two Board colleagues. The General Counsel of Gameforge in Karlsruhe has already been a member of the BIU Executive Board for two years; he also serves as a member of the Executive Board at the Gameforge Group. Newly elected to the Executive Board by the members of the BIU were Ralf Wirsing, Managing Director of Ubisoft Germany, and Michael Zillmer, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Hamburg-based games company Innogames. Former Board members Dr Klemens Kundratitz (Koch Media) and Dr Bernd Fakesch (Nintendo) did not stand for re-election. The members of BIU thanked the two men for their many years of hard work, dedication and success in the German games industry as members of the BIU Executive Board.

[quotation cite=”Tobias Haar, new spokesman of the BIU Executive Board”] “I am very pleased that the members of the BIU have put their faith in me for another two years, and that I will have the opportunity to take a leading role in continuing to work on important projects in the German games industry during the exciting phase in the run-up to the German federal elections in 2017.[/quotation]
‘During the last two years of my term as a member of the BIU Executive Board, we already began working on a number of issues relevant to Germany as a location for games development. Things are moving in the right direction – we are raising awareness in the political arena regarding the challenges facing our industry in areas such as copyright contract law, VAT reform and the lack of qualified employees, for instance. Consequently, I am very pleased that the members of the BIU have put their faith in me for another two years, and that I will have the opportunity to take a leading role in continuing to work on important projects in the German games industry during the exciting phase in the run-up to the German federal elections in 2017,’ says Tobias Haar, new Spokesman for the BIU Executive Board. ‘I also feel that it’s important to thank my two former Board colleagues, Dr Klemens Kundratitz and Dr Bernd Fakesch, for their outstanding partnership over the years. With their hard work and dedication, both of them have made an incredible contribution to the BIU and the German games industry.’
 
‘I am honoured that the members of the BIU have chosen to place their trust in me, and I look forward to serving as a member of the BIU Executive Board,’ says new member of the BIU Executive Board Michael Zillmer. ‘As a developer and publisher of online and mobile games with more than 400 employees in Hamburg and Düsseldorf, I feel that it is particularly important to more closely support and shape the substantial work that the BIU does to foster Germany as a location for the games industry.’
 
‘After nearly 20 years in the German games industry, I am more convinced than ever of the importance of the BIU as a powerful force for representing the entire German games industry,’ says member of the BIU Executive Board Ralf Wirsing. ‘I am very pleased to have been elected to the BIU Executive Board, where I will have the chance to play a more active role in shaping the progress of our medium in future – by being a part of gamescom, for instance, and by tackling issues such as the protection of minors and general acceptance of games in German society.’

About the BIU

BIU – Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware (German Games Industry Association) is the association of the German computer and video games industry. Its 26 members are developers, publishers and providers of digital games, and they represent over 85 per cent of the German market. The BIU is, for example, the sponsor of gamescom. As an expert partner for media and for political and social institutions, the BIU answers all questions on the topic of digital games.

Press contact

Martin Puppe
BIU – Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware e. V.
Charlottenstrasse 62
10117 Berlin
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)30 2408779 20
Fax: +49 (0)30 2408779 11
Email: puppe@biu-online.de
Twitter: @game_eV
Facebook.com/BIUeV

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