Ex-Sega West Head Mike Hayes Lands at Caperfly

30 July, 2012 9 May, 2025

Mike Hayes, now long removed from his post at Sega West, has resurfaced at new UK startup game company Caperfly. A press release issued today says he will serve in a non-executive capacity as director, and will report to the company’s CEO Gavin Cheshire.
If that name sounds familiar, it may be because Cheshire headed Codemasters for a number of years. You may remember Codemasters acquiring the Sega Racing Studio in 2008. In fact, much of Caperfly consists of ex-Codemasters personnel. This new company will focus on developing quality games and apps for mobile and Smart TV platforms.
Hayes’s responsibilities will include establishing a firm business model and using that model to speed company growth. The full press release announcing Hayes’s role, courtesy of Joystiq, is below.

Caperfly Ltd, a brand new digital entertainment and media application business, today announced the appointment of former SEGA® America and Europe CEO Mike Hayes as a non-Executive Director for the company.
Caperfly aims to deliver high quality interactive titles to the iOS, Android and emerging Smart TV platforms. Hayes’ appointment takes effect immediately after Caperfly’s successful launch at the recent Develop conference in Brighton.
The appointment comes at a time when the applications market is seeing exponential growth driven by the rapid adoption of smartphone and tablet devices, with the market predicted to reach a value of $17.5b by the end of 2012 (source: Gartner).
Hayes will help the firm’s already impressive management team to develop the business model and accelerate growth. He will report to CEO Gavin Cheshire.
Hayes is widely recognised as one of the games industry’s leading figures with invaluable experience in executive and leadership roles. His last appointment as CEO of SEGA® America and Europe, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment, saw him preside over a business turnover in excess $600m.
He joined SEGA® in 2004 as it moved from being a format-holder to a multiplatform developer and publisher. One of the highlights was the alliance with Nintendo to create Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games; a series of fun sports games for the Wii, DS and 3DS. Worldwide sales for the series are now in excess of 23 million units.
Hayes steered the transition into a more digital-based software company, launching one of the first game apps on iOS, and ensuring a significant portion of the company revenues were emanating from digital sales upon his departure in June 2012.
Gavin Cheshire, CEO of Caperfly said, “Mike has achieved a great deal in his impressive games industry career. It is a privilege for us to have him on the team.
“He joins Caperfly at a very exciting period of the business, as we accelerate through our plan, and then onto the launch of our first application.”
Mike Hayes said, “This is a good time to be in this new vibrant sector of the industry. I am positive we can take advantage of the next great wave of innovation and distribution here at Caperfly.
“I see Caperfly as a unique mix of talented individuals with aspirations to develop high-quality titles, and I relish the opportunity to be a part of their success.”