Animoca Brands snags top-level executives from McKinsey, Tencent and Accenture

Animoca Brands, the Hong Kong-based blockchain software company, has appointed a handful of senior-level executives to the company, as it continues to expand its footprint in the web3 world.

Alan Lau will join as chief business officer to oversee Animoca Brands' 340 portfolio companies and lead M&A and business development. Before joining, Lau was CEO of WeSure, Tencent's insurance arm that offered affordable internet insurance to WeChat users in China. Lau also worked at McKinsey Digital and Citibank. 

Animoca Brands has also added Minh Do as co-COO, who will be in charge of major scaling initiatives at the company. Before joining the team, Minh worked at global information services and consulting company at Gerson Lehrman Group, where he was general manager of the Greater China businesses. Minh is also a dual qualified attorney in Hong Kong and New York. 

The new team will lead major strategic, organizational and operational decisions at the company alongside co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu, group president Evan Auyang, CEO of North America Robby Yung and COO Arnold Concepción.

Additional hires

Animoca Brands has also added Joanne Chan as deputy CFO, who will be in charge upgrading the financial systems at the company. Before joining the company, Chan was senior vice president of finance at Gerson Lehrman Group. 

Benny Ho will be joining as head of business development for new ventures, where he will work on developing web3 opportunities of "high strategic importance to the company," said a statement from Animoca Brands. Ho spent almost a decade at Tencent, leading global expansion across social media, streaming, music, games and fintech. 

Brian Chan will join from McKinsey as vice president of operations and projects, responsible for strategic planning, leading capability development and operational projects, and "driving continuous improvements in the company's governance and organization process," the statement said. 

Kenneth Shek will join from Accenture as director of project management and work closely with the business development team to executive web3 projects.

The moves come as Animoca continues to put its stamp on web3 and gaming through investments and acquisitions. Among other deals, in early June, the company announced the purchase of Notre Game, a gaming firm that incorporates physical and digital items into its titles.  

Animoca Brands also acquired racing-focused blockchain gaming startups Grease Monkey Games and Eden Games in February and April, respectively.