GGRAsia – Victor Duarte to shape Konami Gaming’s R&D efforts

Victor Duarte to shape Konami Gaming’s R&D efforts

Oct 18, 2018 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News

Konami Gaming Inc has appointed Victor Duarte (pictured) as its chief product and strategy officer, and named him as senior vice president. In a written announcement issued on Wednesday, Konami Gaming said Mr Duarte has more than 20 years of experience in the gaming and lottery industry.

Mr Duarte was recently employed by global gaming supplier International Game Technology Plc as their global chief product officer for gaming. The announcement said Mr Duarte will lead Konami Gaming’s games research and development effort, including vision, conceptualisation, strategy and execution.

“Victor Duarte has a strong track record of strategic leadership in the areas that matter to our customers, including product reliability and performance,” Konami Gaming president and chief executive Steve Sutherland said in a prepared statement.

“His demonstrated commitment to quality and innovation is consistent with Konami’s enduring vision for the business and its role across global markets,” added Mr Sutherland.

Konami Gaming is a United States-based maker of slot machines and a subsidiary of Konami Holdings Corp. Founded by Kagemasa Kozuki in 1973, Konami Holdings is among the world’s leading gaming equipment makers.

Konami Gaming has recently filled three upper management roles in its Las Vegas, Nevada, set-up. The organisation promoted Shanna Grimes to vice president for human resources, Gary Snobel to vice president for corporate planning and IT administration, and William Wadleigh to senior director for game development.