Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2018

Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (A)

by William R. Kerr and Gamze Yucaoglu

Abstract

Sidar Şahin, founder and CEO of Peak Games, a Turkey-based global mobile gaming company, must decide on the final list of candidates for the critical global marketing director position the company has been trying to fill for over a year. Since its founding in 2010, Peak Games has grown to become Europe’s 3rd biggest grossing online gaming company and its mobile games have made a name for themselves internationally. Şahin’s team has grown to 100 people, almost all of whom reside in the same office in Istanbul, Turkey. As Peak’s games reached an audience of over 350 million users worldwide, the recruitment needs and criteria also changed. Şahin needed more internationally experienced talent in the company. Yet, this was not an easy background to acquire in Turkey, and Şahin valued that team members shared the office to meld into the company culture. Throughout the year, the company’s HR director has used multiple search channels and interviewed various candidates. In April 2017, having received a short list of candidates, none of whom looked like the “perfect fit” at an initial glance, Şahin is set on reaching a decision on the position.

Keywords: recruiting; staffing; emergent countries; Turkey; entrepreneurial management; private sector; business model; Business Strategy; competitive advantage; growth and development strategy; value creation; decision; growth management; Decision Choices and Conditions; talent and talent management; organizational culture; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; Turkey;

Language: English Format: Print 20 pages Educators

Citation:

Kerr, William R., and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (A)." Harvard Business School Case 818-083, January 2018.

Related Work

  1. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | January 2018

    Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (B)

    William R. Kerr and Gamze Yucaoglu

    On November 7th, 2017, Sidar Şahin, founder and CEO of Peak Games, a Turkey-based global mobile gaming company, had just closed the sale of Peak Games’ card games studio. This sale included three of the company’s top grossing games and half of its team. Sidar was happy about the $100 million sale to the global gaming giant Zynga. He felt that the spin out would sharpen Peak Games’ focus on the casual game genre, which was a faster growing genre with cyclical trends. Having attained the desired focus for the company, Sidar was already thinking about what he needed to do to make Peak Games into 10x what it is today.

    Keywords: games; gaming; Turkey; emerging markets; Acquisitions; exits; entrepreneurship; private sector; for-profit firms; business model; Business Strategy; competitive advantage; growth and development strategy; value creation; decision; leading change; management teams; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Decision Making; Information Technology Industry; Turkey;

    Citation:

    Kerr, William R., and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 818-084, January 2018.  View Details
    CiteView Details Related

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William R. Kerr
Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration
Entrepreneurial Management

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