Chief Executive Officer - John De Margheriti

After being heavily involved in the computer game development industry through his own games studios, not for profit organizations and associations for over 20 years, John saw an opportunity within the online game market for a definitive MMOG middleware solution. His studio shifted their focus into developing the multi award winning BigWorld Technology which he later [2002] spun out into a Middleware Company - BigWorld Pty Ltd.

John founded the Academy of Interactive Entertainment Ltd (AIE) in 1996 - and it has since gained recognition as Australia's premier Registered Training Organization for the Computer Game Development and 3D Digital industries.

John was the founder of the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA), and was Treasurer of the Association up until 2005 when he resigned from the board to focus his energies on growing his other businesses. The GDAA was formed at the inaugural Australian Game Developers Conference (AGDC) which was founded, owned and operated by the AIE [1999 to 2005].

John is also passionate about encouraging entrepreneurial activity in his local community and to this end, established Canberra Technology Park (CTP) in 1997, and more recently Canberra Business Parks (CBP).

John is an Honorary Ambassador for Canberra - Australia's National Capital.

Chief Operating Officer - Steve Wang

A co-founder of BigWorld Pty Ltd, Steve has over 20 years of proven production experience, driving games development across multiple platforms and cutting edge technology development teams.

From the days of the C64 to the Xbox 360, he has guided the studio through numerous projects, the most ambitious being the management of the multi-award winning BigWorld technology. For the last 7 years he has been focusing on the online games market, including MMO development, games for a wider online market and innovative, alternate business models.

Steve is currently responsible for overseeing wide-ranging operational matters for the company to ensure BigWorld continues to exceed expectations in the growing global market.

Steve holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of NSW.

VP, Business Development - Gavin Longhurst

Gavin Longhurst is the VP, Business Development for BigWorld and has worked at a senior level in the animation, CG, game, broadcast and film industries. He co-founded Australia's premier animation and FX distribution business, went on to join Autodesk/Discreet as Asia Pacific 3D Animation Manager before heading up the sales and marketing division of Seeing Machines, a real-time computer vision company which listed on the London AIM stock exchange in 2005.

Chief Technology Officer - Simon Hayes

Simon is a co-founder of BigWorld Pty Ltd, and an industry veteran with over 15 years experience in the games industry.

Simon is well respected in the industry and is well regarded by his peers. He is the technical director behind the multi-award winning BigWorld Technology and was instrumental in bringing the product to market. He also has over 6 published game titles to his name.

As CTO of BigWorld, Simon is the technical visionary driving the ongoing development of the BigWorld technology and guiding all technical aspects of the company’s development teams.