Devir hires longtime The Op hobby games director Pat Marino to lead North American sales and marketing

Devir Games has bolstered its ongoing North American expansion by bringing in longtime The Op executive Pat Marino as its first director of sales and marketing for the region.

Marino joins Devir in the newly-created role after nine years at The Op Games, including the last four as director of hobby games, where he helped oversee releases such as runaway hit Flip 7, Gnome Hollow and Tacta.

While there he saw annual revenue at the company double to a projected $4m this year, on the back of mass-market retail placement of The Op’s hobby titles, according to his LinkedIn page.

He joined The Op in 2017 as his first role within the board game industry, working as a game designer on Court of the Dead: Mourners Call before transitioning into areas such as inventor relations and product development.

The hire continues Devir’s expansion in North America, as the company looks to keep growing beyond its roots in Portugal, Spain and Latin America.

Devir began life as a Brazilian comic book distributor in 1987, launched its own board game operation as a Spanish publisher in 2000 before gradually expanding the business out to Latin America.

The publisher began bringing English language versions of its games to the US in 2017, and has since grown its global operation to about 400 people.

Matt Hyland, managing partner at Devir Americas, told BoardGameWire he hoped Marino would help the company “expand our contacts within the industry, bring in new perspectives based on what he learned at the Op, and provide valuable feedback on new products and initiatives”.

He said, “Aside from that, he’s a really smart and motivated guy, so I’m confident he can help take the business to a new level.”

Marino said, “Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about connecting great games with players, retailers, and the broader hobby community.

“Devir’s incredible catalog, commitment to quality, and ambitious vision for the future made this an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

“I’m beyond excited to join the team and help expand Devir’s presence across North America. I look forward to meeting with retailers, partners, and fans as we begin this next chapter together.”

Marino is set to start the new role on July 13, and will make his first public appearance with the company at Gen Con, where Devir is launching titles including One Round?, 7th Seal and Rock Hard 1977 expansion Ear Candy.

The company’s releases scheduled for later in the year include Dani Garcia design Gaudí, which Devir has slated as a key Essen launch, and push your luck party game Risky Mixes, while early 2027 should see the retail release of miniatures title Claustrophobia 1692, the company’s first ever crowdfunding project.

Early last year Devir Games agreed to buy Spanish board game publisher Maldito Games, adding the company’s portfolio of ‘expert-level’ localisations including Terraforming Mars, Ark Nova and Brass Birmingham to its catalogue.

Devir has continued to publish games under the Maldito brand following the acquisition, as well as transferring some of its own ‘expert’ games to the arm, adding at the time of the deal that it had been looking for a way to better categorise its catalogue “for some time”.