Brian Ward is no longer leading Savvy Games Group.
Savvy Games Group is the video game division of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), with Ward serving as the chief executive officer of the company since its formation in November 2021. Bloomberg News reported today, Sept. 1, that Ward had stepped down from his role at Savvy, citing an internal memo sent by Ward to Savvy staff and viewed by Bloomberg.
“As Savvy embarks on its next period of transformational growth, this is the right time for new leadership for that evolution,” Ward reportedly wrote in the memo viewed by Bloomberg.
Saudi Arabia’s PIF invested tens of billions of dollars into games during Ward’s five-year tenure as the leader of Savvy Games Group, including the company’s 2023 acquisition of Scopely for $4.9 billion and its recently-completed $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts. During this period, Savvy expanded to roughly 4,000 employees globally. At the moment, it’s unclear whether Ward will also be stepping down from his chairman roles at Scopely and ESL FACEIT Group, Savvy’s esports arm.
Before taking the reins at Savvy Games Group, Ward held executive roles at Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Activision, and LottoInteractive. Studio acquisitions were also a focus for Ward during his role at Activision, where he helped oversee the company’s portfolio strategy as its senior vice president of worldwide studios, leading the acquisition of 11 studios during his eight-year tenure. Before entering the gaming industry, Ward worked as an attorney, and he holds both business and law degrees from the University of Alberta.
In addition to his work with Savvy, Ward currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Hero Esports, Embracer Group, and the Saudi Authority for Gaming and Esports, as well as the chairman of the Saudi Arabian development studio Steer Studios.
Following Ward’s exit, Turqi Alnowaiser, who serves as the deputy governor of the Saudi PIF, will reportedly step in as Savvy’s interim acting CEO. Alnowaiser comes from a background outside gaming; prior to joining the PIF in October 2016, he held roles at Saudi Fransi Capital and Morgan Stanley. A 2021 press release announcing Alnowaiser’s elevation to the deputy governor role commended him for successfully driving the PIF’s international investment strategy “across a number of geographies and asset classes.” He currently represents the Fund as a member of the boards of Lucid Motors, Noon Investments, Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), Sanabil Investments, and Hapag-Lloyd AG.