Who We Are
Big Fish is an award-winning publisher that has 20 years of experience in the gaming industry. We create memorable games we’re proud of that are loved and played by millions of people around the world.
We are here to deliver delightful experiences to our players through our extensive portfolio of games.
Our Culture
We believe our culture sets us apart. Our most successful employees value the journey, are here to build something unique and make their mark. They are optimistic and fearless. They do not shy from making tough calls. They are owners who take bold action. They embody the principles that guide our strategy, our decisions and our interactions. These include a relentless focus on results, sweating the details while not losing sight of the big picture, bringing passion & joy to their work, acting with integrity and always putting players first.
Leadership
Nicole Opas
SVP Head of Studios at Big Fish Games
Nicole Opas is the SVP Head of Studios at Big Fish Games and brings with her almost 25 years of game and entertainment industry experience. As SVP Head of Studios, Nicole leads Big Fish’s portfolio of live hit games and product strategy across Big Fish’s studios in Seattle, Oakland, Lviv, UK and supports more great talent worldwide.
Prior to joining Big Fish, Nicole spent over eight years at Zynga leading game studios developing and operating top-grossing free-to-play mobile games across multiple genres. Before Zynga, Nicole led game development of Disney’s online casual games and playable experiences; collaborating with brand owners across Disney’s vast intellectual properties.
Nicole is an advocate for women in technology and gaming, giving talks at Game Developers Conference and featured in articles and podcasts advocating for more diversity in the gaming industry. She also mentors collegiate women and volunteers in team leadership in support of her college sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. She graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science.
Her mission at Big Fish is to lead the organization’s game development teams to build meaningful games loved by millions and a culture of empowerment and trust.
Todd Heringer
SVP Head of Operations at Big Fish
Todd Heringer is the SVP Head of Operations at Big Fish Games and brings 24 years of experience in interactive mobile, social, and online entertainment products. As SVP Head of Operations, Todd oversees all aspects of engineering, shared game tech, central tech, facilities, and program management.
Prior to joining Big Fish, Todd was Head of Studio at Backflip Studios, a subsidiary of Hasbro, where he managed the studio and operated mobile games including DragonVale and Transformers: Earth Wars. Before Backflip Studios, Todd was GM of the social casino team at GSN Games and oversaw development and live operations of mobile games including GSN Casino and Solitaire TriPeaks.
Todd has been an avid gamer since he was a small child, and he's continually amazed and excited that his job involves building the games that he loves to play.
Todd holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Todd is dedicated to building and enabling Big Fish teams around the globe, to make it as easy and fun as possible to build games at Big Fish Games.
Daniel Helmhold
VP, Growth
Daniel Helmhold joined Big Fish Games in early 2021 as the Vice President of Growth. He has over 15 years of marketing experience, the last 10 focused exclusively on gaming. As the Head of Growth and Marketing, Daniel is focused on scaling Big Fish’s current franchises and driving the successful publishing of new games.
Daniel began his career in performance marketing at Google, after which he became the first Product Marketing hire at Kabam. There, he oversaw Product Marketing for early mobile hits like The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth and later became the Head of Product Marketing for Kabam before its acquisition by Fox. At Fox, he helped build a publishing organization from scratch while launching the hit game Marvel Strike Force prior to its acquisition by Scopely. Most recently, Daniel spent two years leading Marketing for Capcom USA, where he launched PC/Console titles from some of the world’s biggest gaming IP, including Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, and Resident Evil.
As VP of Growth at Big Fish, Daniel oversees User Acquisition, Brand and Product Marketing, Creative Services, and Platform Relations.
In addition to his role at Big Fish, he enjoys snowboarding, golf, all things sci-fi, and fantasy and can’t wait to return to traveling as the world starts to safely reopen.
Daniel’s mission at Big Fish is to introduce record numbers of new players to our games, through promotions that combine market-leading creativity and a strong orientation towards data.
Tracy West
VP, People & Culture
Tracy West is the Vice President of People and Culture at Big Fish Games and brings diverse and extensive human resources, internal communications, public relations, and transformation experience from her more than 10 years in the casino, hospitality, and entertainment industries. Tracy will oversee all People and Culture projects, initiatives, and practices for Big Fish Games, focusing on culture, employee experience, and recruiting.
Most recently, Tracy held the position of Vice President of Employee Experience at Aristocrat, the parent company to Big Fish Games. Prior to joining Big Fish, Tracy started her career in the casino entertainment industry with Caesars Entertainment in 2009 and held several positions, most notably the Regional Director of Employee Engagement, leading the engagement strategy for the 30,000+ employees in Las Vegas. She has since grown and worked for Pinnacle Entertainment as Vice President, Enterprise Human Resources and Chief Integration Officer.
Tracy is highly skilled in modern human resources practices, change management communication through acquisitions and mergers, and employee engagement strategy and execution. She is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s in telecommunications and a master’s in public relations from Syracuse University.
Her mission at Big Fish is to innovate and lead positive change in employees’ lives by championing the employee experience.
Huy Nguyen
VP, Business Operations
Huy Nguyen is the Vice President of Business Operations at Big Fish Games. Huy leads the data science, data engineering, Live Ops tools and platform, and business performance teams. As a data-driven leader, he is motivated by applying deep data insights to products to delight millions of players.
Prior to leading Big Fish’s business operations team, Huy led teams at Electronic Arts (EA), Amazon, and Intel. At EA, Huy built out the business planning and forecasting tool for mobile products and was responsible for modernizing the live service platform and processes.
Huy received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from the University of Washington and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon.
Trung Luu
VP, Commercial Finance & CFO of Big Fish
Trung Luu is the Vice President of Commercial Finance and CFO of Big Fish Games, and for more than 20 years he has worked across multiple industries within the gaming, media and technology sectors. As Vice President of Commercial Finance and CFO of Big Bish, Trung leads and oversees the company’s global financial operations.
Prior to leading Big Fish’s finance team, Trung has spent eight years in the gaming industry, most recently holding the position of head of studio finance at Zynga. He has also held various financial and operational roles at DeNA, Yahoo!, Exar and McCann over the past 20 years.
Trung received a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from the University of Davis, CA, and an MBA from Cal State East Bay. Trung is married to his wife Alda and has two children.
Rachel DiPaola
Chief of Staff
Rachel DiPaola is the Chief of Staff at Big Fish Games and brings with her more than 25 years of game industry experience. As Chief of Staff, Rachel is the right hand to the Big Fish President and executive team, leading the implementation of critical company initiatives across teams.
Rachel is a strategist, consultant, and implementer, identifying opportunities for improvement and executing streamlined processes across the organization based on the priorities of the business. Rachel acts as a change agent who converts initiatives into action and assists with the daily operations of the organization.
Rachel has led the publishing and development of over 75 titles across multiple platforms and genres, having previously worked for Disney, Jam City, 2K, Zynga, and more across the gaming industry. Rachel is passionate about mentorship of employees as well as junior professionals in the video game industry.
When not working on Big Fish Games, Rachel can be found hiking on Mt. Tamalpais, reading, or riding her E-bike around town.