Meet the Team
Mark Gerhard
Chief Executive Officer
Mark Gerhard is a highly experienced technology entrepreneur, innovator and an accomplished and award-winning Chief Executive Officer and CTO at the forefront of the interactive entertainment sector. Mr. Gerhard served as Chief Executive Officer and CTO at Jagex, the UK’s leading games developer and publisher best known as the makers of RuneScape, a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
Under Mr. Gerhard’s leadership, Jagex was set on a long-term growth path with a revitalized core franchise on multiple platforms, giving the multi-award winning IP owner and publisher long-term predictable revenue streams. He introduced numerous product improvements ranging from more contemporary gameplay mechanics to graphical and performance improvements to enhanced monetization to community engagement.
Riaan Hodgson
Chief Operating Officer
Riaan Hodgson is an experienced executive with extensive operational experience with technology and interactive entertainment companies. His domain expertise is in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, finance, data science, predictive analytics and machine learning. Most recently he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of PlayFusion, a developer utilizing artificial intelligence to power the future of enhanced reality entertainment, education, beauty and commerce.
From 2008 to 2015, he served as Chief Financial Officer, as well as Chief Operating Officer from December 2012, of Jagex, the UK’s leading games developer and publisher, and was instrumental in its transition from an insular business to a highly profitable global intellectual property owner by applying data science for an operational competitive advantage and leveraging the power of the community to drive organic growth.
David Gomberg
President
David Gomberg is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in technology and media entertainment. In January 2015, along with Mr. Gerhard and Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Gomberg co-founded PlayFusion, a Cambridge, UK based technology developer pioneering artificial intelligence to power the future of enhanced reality entertainment, education, beauty and commerce.
At PlayFusion, he serves as Chief Innovation Officer. In 2019, Mr. Gomberg co-founded Beauty Labs International, which develops computer vision, machine learning and other AI applications for beauty brands. Additionally, in 2019, Mr. Gomberg founded Just Won’t Die, a leading-edge video game studio developing revolutionary experiences at the intersection of gaming, TV and interactive e-sports.
Bob Foresman
Director
Bob Foresman has served as a director of Twelve Seas Acquisition Corporation II since February 2021. He served on the board of directors of Ascendant III from November 2021 until liquidation in January 2023. Mr. Foresman served as a director of Ascendant I from July 2020 until its business combination with MarketWise in July 2021. Mr. Foresman served as vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank (NYSE: UBS), based in New York, from October 2016 to April 2020. Mr. Foresman was also chairman of OOO UBS Bank in Russia as well as UBS Group country head for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States region (“CIS”) from January 2018 to April 2020.
Prior to joining UBS, Mr. Foresman was the Barclays Group (OTC: BCLYF) country head for Russia and the wider region from December 2009 to April 2016, where he represented and coordinated the activities of Barclays Group in the region, including investment banking and wealth management. Prior to his work at Barclays, Mr. Foresman was deputy chairman of Renaissance Capital (from August 2006 to November 2009, chairman of the management committee for Russia and the CIS at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (from January 2001 to June 2006) and head of investment banking for Russia and the CIS at ING Barings (from August 1997 to December 2000).
Mickie Rosen
Director
Mickie Rosen has three decades of strategy, operating, advisory, investment and board experience at the intersection of media and technology. Ms. Rosen has been a principal at Mickie Rosen Consulting since October 2013, where she advises and serves on the board of directors of early, growth, and public companies. She has served as a member of the board of directors of the Bank of Queensland (ASX: BOQ) since March 2021 where she serves as the chair of the transformation and technology committee and as a member of the audit, risk, people, culture and remuneration, and nominating and corporate governance committees and is also a member of the board of directors of Nine Entertainment Co. (ASX: NEC) since March 2017.
Ms Rosen served on the board of directors of FaZe Clan (Nasdaq: FAZE) from July 2022 to March 2024 where she served as a member of the audit and nominating and corporate governance committees. Ms Rosen served on the board of directors of Ascendant III from November 2021 to February 2023 and on the board of directors of Ascendant I from July 2020 until its business combination with MarketWise in July 2021. Ms. Rosen also served as a director of Pandora Media (NYSE: P), from October 2015 to February 2019, where she served as the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee and as a member of the compensation committee.
Michael Jesselson
Director
Michael Jesselson has been president and chief executive officer of Jesselson Capital Corporation since 1994 and was an early investor in internet startups such as ICQ Mirabilis, which was sold to AOL. He previously served on the board of directors of Ascendant III from November 2021 until its liquidation in January 2023.Mr. Jesselson served as a director of Ascendant I from July 2020 until its business combination with MarketWise in July 2021. Mr. Jesselson served as a lead independent director of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) from November 1997 to May 2017. He has been on the board of directors of XPO Logics (NYSE: XPO) since 2016.
Prior to that, he worked at Philipp Brothers, a division of Engelhard Industries, from 1972 to 1981, then at Salomon Brothers Inc. in the mortgage-backed security trading department. He has been the director of C-III Capital Partners LLC, Clarity Capital and Cricket/EPals since 2012, 2014 and 2016, respectively, as well as numerous philanthropic organizations.
Andrzej Dudek
Senior Board Advisor
Andrzej Włodzimierz Dudek is a highly experienced executive, entrepreneur, investor and investment banker with over two decades of top international experience, robust track record and unique global network. Mr. Dudek has served as CEO and Co-Founder of innovative medical and technology company Global Teleclinic & Assistance. He is also Vice President of The Management Board of PlayWay, a prominent video game developer and publisher, global leader in simulator games with more than 200 games on Global Steam Bestsellers’ List (#1 worldwide).
Mr. Dudek also served as Vice President and Head of CEE Investment Banking at Barclays Capital in London – he notably tripled the scale and revenues of Barclays Capital in the CEE region and in Poland. In addition Mr. Dudek held various roles at leading global companies such as The Boston Consulting Group, Booz Allen & Hamilton in New York, Credit Suisse First Boston (IBD Tech Group) in London and Morgan Stanley (M&A) in London.