Playtika appoints Mendel to new blockchain role

In his new role, Mendel will support Playtika with its growth plans across the gaming finance and Web3.0 blockchain technology sectors.

Mendel will join Playtika having most recently served as executive director of blockchain applied research at JP Morgan for almost three years.

Prior to this, Mendel was managing director of the Blockchain Research Institute at Tel Aviv University for three years, while he also spent over two years as general manager for cyber security at Intel.

His other roles included senior director for cyber security for the chief technology officer’s office at Broadcom, while he also co-founded security business SCsquare and was its chief executive for over 12 years.

“I am delighted to be joining the exceptional team at Playtika and bring to bear my two-plus decades of experience leading advanced blockchain and cybersecurity projects,” Mendel said.

“Playtika has a proven, unique expertise in creating sophisticated technology in its products and day-to-day operations. I am excited to join this team and expand Playtika’s reach into Web3.0 and GameFi.”

Playtika chief strategy officer Eric Rapps added: “Web 3.0 represents a disruptive new wave of commerce, product and community engagement and we believe best-in-class expertise in blockchain technology will be a key determinant of the ultimate winners in this new frontier. 

“We are excited to continue our technology leadership as we look to expand into Web3.0, starting with GameFi, a natural extension of our mobile gaming business. I am thrilled to have Dr Mendel, one of the world’s leading experts in blockchain technology and cybersecurity, join our team to lead this new growth initiative.”