Merkur strengthens game design with key leadership appointments
Benjamin Stegemann assumes the position at the Future Game Innovation Lab, and Dubravka Burda is appointed senior vice president of Global Studios.
Press release.- The Merkur Group continues to advance its ongoing transformation, underscored by recent leadership and structural changes at the German gaming powerhouse. Effective April 1, Benjamin Stegemann assumes responsibility for the newly established Future Game Innovation Lab within the Merkur Games business division. At the same time, Dubravka Burda takes over leadership of the global Game Design and development studios, stepping in as a new face for the division.
The Future Game Innovation Lab has a clear mandate: to identify player preferences at an early stage and to systematically develop innovative and creative game concepts as well as hardware and software solutions that go beyond current market standards – ultimately securing a strategic competitive edge for Merkur. “Our ambition is to increasingly set our own game trends. The Future Game Innovation Lab provides the ideal platform to focus on exactly that,” said Benjamin Stegemann. In addition to leading the newly created unit, Stegemann continues to support the product organisation with his extensive Game Design expertise, with the aim of sustainably enhancing the graphical and audiovisual quality of Merkur’s product portfolio.
Dominik Raasch, management board member, Merkur Games, said: “Benjamin Stegemann’s exceptional passion for games has injected fresh momentum into our development efforts, while also making a significant contribution to increasing transparency, optimising processes, and fostering closer collaboration across our global Game Design teams.”
As part of this transition, Dubravka Burda takes over leadership of the global Game Design and development teams. She began her career in the gaming industry in 1997 with Atronic, a former subsidiary of the Merkur Group, and subsequently held senior leadership positions at GTech and IGT.
Raasch added: “Dubravka Burda is widely recognised as a proven expert in the gaming industry. Thanks to her many years of experience in successfully managing international Game Design and development studios, she is exceptionally well prepared for her new role at Merkur Games. I very much look forward to her contributions and to working together.”
In her role as senior vice president of Global Studios, effective April 1, Burda oversees all national and international game studios within the Merkur Group.
Dubravka Burda said: “I have followed the Merkur Group’s transformation with great interest and close attention. Being able to experience and actively shape this transformation first-hand represents an outstanding opportunity for me – both professionally and personally.” In her new position, Burda is responsible for further developing studio structures, processes, and capabilities; accelerating the quality and speed of game development; and optimising collaboration among Game Design teams, core development, and the product organisation.
Dominik Raasch concluded, “With these leadership and structural adjustments, we are reinforcing our ambition to elevate the Merkur gaming experience worldwide and to further accelerate our international growth. I am confident that, in their respective roles, Benjamin Stegemann and Dubravka Burda will make a decisive contribution to achieving this goal in the long term.”
