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People Moves: Risa Petrone named marketing manager at AEG; David Bock joins NorthStar as marketing director
Two more significant hires in the board game industry across the marketing side of the hobby. If you have news of a new role, hire or job change within the hobby that you’d like mentioned on BoardGameWire, please send an email with the details to the editor, Mike Didymus-True, on:
Risa Petrone, Marketing Manager, Alderac Entertainment Group
Former Lucky Duck Games sales and marketing specialist Risa Petrone has been hired by Alderac Entertainment Group as its new marketing manager.
Petrone brings several years of board game industry experience to the business, having previously worked across social media management, marketing and comms across roles at Incredible Dream, Calliope Games and GTS Distribution.
She spent just over a year at Lucky Duck after joining in the summer of 2024, with notable successes listed on her LinkedIn page including contributing to a 65% gross sales increase at Gen Con – where she was responsible for redesigning the company’s booth layout and driving new marketing ideas.
Petrone was also responsible for Lucky Duck’s striking exhibitor booth at GAMA Expo last year, which was fashioned in the style of a kitchen to show off Cardboard Alchemy’s release Critter Kitchen.
Prior to entering the board game industry in 2019, the former teacher also previously worked at the New York Renaissance Faire as a performer, director and choreographer.
AEG’s 2026 activity is set to include the retail edition of Flatout Games’ Kickstarter titles Honeypot and Forage, crowdfunded John D Clair design Mystic Lands and an upcoming Kickstarter for Josh Wood’s Let’s Go to Japan follow-up, Let’s Go to France.
David Bock, Marketing Director, NorthStar Games
Experienced board game industry graphic designer David Bock has left Red Raven Games after almost five years to become marketing director at Nature publisher NorthStar Games.
NorthStar said Bock will lead brand strategy, product launches, convention presence, and community engagement as Northstar looks to expand its hobby gaming catalogue.
Bock joined Sleeping Gods publisher Red Raven as a social media manager and web developer in 2021, before taking on a graphic designer role at the business two years later.
During that time he also took on graphic design contract work at Gloomhaven publisher Cephalofair Games and at PickPocket Games, where he worked on the company’s debut release Thief’s Market, according to his LinkedIn page.
Bock also worked as a marketing manager and consultant for TTRPG-focused Son of Oak Game Studio from June 2025, to guide the retail launch of Legend in the Mist and its marketing and comms rollout.
He began working in the tabletop industry in 2019 as marketing and comms manager at Japanime Games, and also undertook contract social media manager work at Arcane Wonders and graphic designer and art direction at Grandpa Beck’s Games.
Bock also founded his own publishing business Binxadinx Games in 2022, and raised just over $25,000 for its sole Kickstarter campaign for his design, Rocket Ranchers: Herding Cats in Space!, two years ago. He sold the intellectual property of Binxadinx to PickPocket Games earlier this year.
Speaking about his new role at NorthStar, Bock said, “NorthStar already makes games people connect with. I want to make sure future releases line up clearly with players’ expectations.
“My first major initiative is growing the Nature community by launching an annual, community-designed Nature mini-module contest. This will give players a real voice in shaping the future of the Nature game ecosystem.”
NorthStar CEO Dominic Crapuchettes added, “David knows this space because he’s been a part of it for years. He understands both the creative side and the player side, and that perspective helps ensure we’re speaking as members of the community, not just to it.”
Bock joins NorthStar two months after former marketing manager Ross Connell left to become head of crowdfunding at UK fantasy and sci-fi board game and miniatures maker Mantic Games.
