Key players
Jez San, OBE
President and Founder, PKR
The first person to ever be awarded an OBE for services to the computer games industry, Jez San is one of the UK’s best known technology entrepreneurs.
Having founded his first company Argonaut at age 16, Jez was responsible for hit release StarGlider, one of the first 3D games to hit the nascent video games market. This passion for three dimensional graphics in videogames was and continues to be, Jez’s forte.
In the early 90’s Jez and the Argonaut team invented the world’s first 3D graphics accelerator chip, which was sold to Nintendo. Following a number of other technology projects for companies as diverse as Philips and Apple, Argonaut then invented their own microprocessor chip called the ARC. ARC International was spun out into a separate company and both ARC and Argonaut floated in 2000.
While playing poker at home with friends and online, Jez dreamed of developing a more realistic poker game that had true-to-life qualities.
As President, Jez’s day-to-day role involves negotiating strategic partnerships, working with investors, talking to the industry and building and refining our strategy while keeping a critical eye on our product to ensure that it’s the best it can be.
Malcolm Graham
Chief Executive Officer
One of the most respected figures in the gaming industry, Malcolm joined PKR as Chief Executive Officer in January 2006.
Ultimately responsible for the launch of PKR, Malcolm’s role includes coordinating the process that ensures PKR secured a gaming license in a leading jurisdiction, forming the necessary partnerships with the appropriate financial institutions, hiring key employees and reporting to the Board of Directors.
Prior to joining PKR, Malcolm was the Managing Director of The Ritz Club London Online, operating an online casino and poker room under the Ritz brand. He was also a Director of the Ritz Club, the land-based casino located in the world famous Ritz hotel.
Malcolm was also Chairman of the Alderney Gaming Licensees Forum and Treasurer of the Interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association (IGGBA) in 2003.
Prior to Malcolm’s role at The Ritz Club Online, he worked for one of the UK’s leading internet investment vehicles called the Antfactory. Prior to this, Malcolm was a management consultant with Mercer Management Consulting where he specialized in the telecommunications and internet industries.
Malcolm has a BA from Southampton University and an MBA from INSEAD.
Leon Walters
Chief Operating Officer
A video games veteran, Leon co-founded PKR with Jez San.
Having worked in the video games industry for his entire professional career, Leon started out at Sony prior to the launch of the PlayStation. For the past five years Leon worked with Jez at Argonaut.
Responsible for the general day-to-day running of PKR's development team, Leon also oversees all project management and was responsible for all of the initial product design and overall direction for art and animation.
Jeremy Longley
Chief Technical Officer
A first-class honours graduate from Cambridge University, Jeremy is responsible for overseeing all the technical development of PKR’s proprietary software, from the new client and interface through to the servers and operation/management control interfaces.
With over ten years in the video games industry, Jeremy worked as Lead Software Engineer at Bullfrog Productions before setting up and running Lost Toys, an independent development studio. Prior to joining PKR, Jeremy was Executive Producer at Kuju Entertainment.
Simon Prodger
Marketing Director
Prior to joining PKR, Simon spent three years heading up the marketing team at VC Poker, the poker room operated by Britain’s largest independent bookmaker, Victor Chandler International.
An industry veteran who has experienced the poker boom from the inside, Simon has worked on a range of high-profile and innovative campaigns that have helped to establish online poker as a mainstream activity.
At PKR, Simon is responsible for all aspects of marketing, CRM and media relations.
Jean-Pierre Houareau
Chief Financial Officer
Jean-Pierre Houareau joined PKR as Chief Financial Officer in June 2006. He oversees all financial matters for the company.
Before joining PKR, Jean-Pierre served as Chief Financial Officer at WagerWorks Inc, an online gaming and poker software provider that, along with PKR, is licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. During his time at WagerWorks he played a key role in the company’s $90 million acquisition by International Game Technology (IGT) and the integration that followed.
Jean-Pierre has also served as Finance Director EMEA at Vanguard Managed Solutions where he also served as a company Director as well as taking responsibility for personnel and administration. Prior to his time at Vanguard, Jean-Pierre spent 18 months as VP Finance in a technology start-up with VC backing.
He has also been EMEA Finance Director at Warner Bros Consumer Products until he left in 2001.
Jean-Pierre graduated with a Master Degree in Economics with honors and became a qualified accountant in France. In 1999, he obtained the US qualification (1st time pass) and became a CPA.
Motie Bring
Head of Transaction Services
Motie Bring is responsible for all aspects of fraud mitigation, payments solutions, payments processing and consumer risk management at PKR.
Prior to joining PKR, Motie was the Director for Risk and Fraud Management with Cryptologic, where he headed both the solution and operational units governing secured online ecommerce transactions. Motie has also worked at Proc Cyber Services LTD as a Risk Product Manager.
Motie brings to PKR a wealth of experience in online gaming with a successful track record in carefully attending to the competing concerns of corporate revenue protection and excellent customer service in a competitive marketplace.
Victoria Dornan
Head of Client Services
With ten years experience in managing Customer Care teams, Victoria has set up from scratch and managed PKR's 24/7 , multi-lingual and multi-channel player support team since February 2006. In addition to this, she also runs a personalised support and hospitality service for VIP players, thus creating strong relations with PKR’s loyal customer base.
Prior to PKR, Victoria established and managed Crypologic's Customer Care Team, playing a key role in it's relocation from London to Cyprus.
Before her online gaming career took off she headed up customer services teams for three years for Fidelity Investments, both in UK and in Germany.