Biogs

I feel the need to apologise for the fact that these biogs are written in the third person.
Normally I’d consider that an indicator of narcissistic personality disorder, but these are my standard biogs that get put on press releases or articles where people need to explain who I am.  They’re here in case anyone needs to cut and paste my ‘official’ blurb.

Mercifully Short Version

Harry Holmwood started his career as a games programmer, designer and musician, working for a start-up developer before heading to Sony to help them launch their first PlayStation.  In 1996, he founded a game development studio, which was listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 1999 with a £20m valuation and went on to launch an online service which was sold in 2001. He was also a director of a pioneering motion gaming company sold to US group PDP in 2008, and spent two years in San Diego, California, as PDP’s VP of Software and Licensing.  He advises numerous  companies and investors in and around the entertainment and technology sector, lectures at industry and academic seminars, helps troubled businesses survive and healthy ones grow.  Harry graduated from the University of Southampton with B.Sc.(Hons) Computer Science.

Painfully Long Version

Harry Holmwood: A degree in Computer Science and a series of IT consulting contracts led Harry to a join a start-up games developer in 1992, where he worked on a number of successful computer games for major clients such as Electronic Arts and Mindscape.

In 1994, he was approached by Sony to work on their forthcoming PlayStation games console. At Sony he worked with games publishers, developers and retailers across Europe to evangelise and support launch of PlayStation, which became the most successful games console to date.

In 1996 Harry founded Pure Entertainment, a software development company with major clients such as Mattel, Sony and Eidos, taking it to profitability within 12 months on the back of a small private round of funding. In 1999, the company was listed on AIM with a valuation of around £20million, and went on to launch a well-known online gaming service which was sold in early 2001.

Shortly after this, Harry founded Heldhand as a strategic, financial and management consultancy focussed on the technology and media space.  Clients have included games developers and publishers, retailers, law and accounting firms, venture capital providers, turnaround specialists, animation houses, marketing and PR agencies and other companies needing support and advice to grow and prosper.

He was also a director of the innovative peripherals manufacturer and games publisher In2Games.  Harry was brought into this 2-man startup to advise on business planning and financing in 2002, and was quickly offered a board position.  Harry was instrumental in taking the company through various financing rounds, heading up development and marketing, setting up and negotiating global distribution and launching successful products worldwide.  The company was sold to US group PDP in 2008, and Harry relocated to San Diego to act as VP of Software and Licensing.  Now returned to the UK, he continues to advise PDP on development and commercial issues.

An expert in the video games and online sectors, he has appeared regularly on television and radio as well as in print across Europe and the USA, and periodically lectures on technology and business at industry and academic seminars.

Harry lives in East Sussex, UK, with his wife, two daughters, three chickens and a rescue greyhound named Leonard.