Team
NICK THOMAS – CEO
Nick Thomas began his career in the pop music scene, and spent the majority of his time as the lead Engineer/Mixer for a long list of Sony Music artists, including Destiny’s Child, Celine Dion, Carlos Santana, Jessica Simpson, Michael Jackson, Darren Hayes, and Ricky Martin to name a few. In early 2003, Nick joined with Kane Minkus to open SomaTone Interactive, has spend the last 8 years producing the highest quality audio and art content for Gaming, Advertising, Film and Interactive Media. As the CEO Nick manages all operations for the entire network of studios, now in, Los Angeles, Emeryville CA (headquarters), Vancouver Canada, and Munich Germany.
Craig Bocks – COO, Executive Director Art Division
Craig Bocks is an award-winning executive of the video game industry, who has built and managed successful product teams and business units for more than a decade at companies PlayFirst and The Learning Company. In his role as VP & Executive Producer, Craig has been responsible for bringing more than 75 titles to market in partnership with dozens of different development partners from more than 20 countries around the world. In 2012, Craig partnered with Nick Thomas to open the art and animation services division at SomaTone Interactive, bringing a vast network of industry connections and a vision for the horizontal growth of the company. As COO, Executive Director Craig is responsible for building the art division from the ground up, including near-shore art directors and producers, as well as an off-shore team of artists and animators
Michael Bross – Executive Director of Audio Services
Michael Bross is a forward-thinking executive who has built his reputation via 20 years of award-winning work as an audio director / composer / sound designer. He has contributed to high-profile video game titles with 25 – 80 million dollar budgets by some of the largest publishers (EA, Microsoft, Take 2, Sony, THQ, Capcom, etc.) including the Oddworld, Lost Planet, WWE and Ratchet & Clank franchises, the latter which has sold 32+ million units. in 2012, Michael became COO / Executive Director of SomaTone’s Audio Division, where he now oversees all production efforts across the company’s global network of studios.
BEN BROWN – VP of Audio Services, SomaTone Canada
Ben brings a wealth of experience and creative direction to SomaTone. Over the past 5 years as an Executive Producer, Director and Project Manager he has worked on hundreds of game soundtracks. Producing award winning Music, Voice Over and Sound Design on titles for repeat clients such as EA, Activision, Big Fish Games, Zynga and Gameloft to name a few. From AAA to Casual, Ben has worked on the most demanding projects, with the most challenging creative and technical requirements, providing experience, leadership, and creative management.
Jeff Troupe – Art Director
Jeff Troupe has been creating quality artwork for computer games since his career began more than seven years ago. Initially focused on background artwork and illustration, Jeff has broadly expanded his artistic skill-set and is always eager to take on the wide variety of challenges that present themselves in the game development process. He has worked on several successful projects across a variety of platforms and was instrumental in defining the look and feel of one of the best-selling casual games of all time – Diner Dash. Jeff has a keen eye for detail and an enthusiasm for leading internal and external art teams to achieve stellar and inspiring results. Jeff has recently joined STi to manage the art team as they create beautiful, game-ready artwork and animation for an ever expanding list of top clients in the mobile, social, and online gaming industries.
MICAH GROBERMAN – VP Sales and Marketing
Since 2002, Micah has been directly involved with the recording and creation of high quality audio for video games and interactive media as owner and COO of an audio production house in Vancouver, BC. In 2008, Micah joined forces with SomaTone Interactive to bring the signature SomaTone quality, management and reliability to game developers and interactive media worldwide. Micah has always had a passion for business, music, music management and video games including playing drums and guitar, artist management, tour management and producing the largest new music festival on the west coast of North America. Micah brings his vast experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to his ideal role as VP of Sales and Marketing for SomaTone Interactive Inc..
MATT BRUUN – Studio Director
Matt has been with SomaTone for over five years, and has grown from Staff SFX Designer, to Composer, to VO Director and now as the US Studio Director. With sound design credits through his time at SomaTone now numbering in the hundreds of titles, awards such as best audio in a casual game for his work on the PopCap hit Peggle, among others, and 20 years of experience as a guitarist, Matt is equipped with the skills and experience to see a project through from start to finish with the highest quality results.
TRACY BARREIRO – Accounting
Tracy Barreiro is the Accountant at SomaTone Interactive Inc. As an accomplished finance executive, she has spent the last ten years as a successful independent Finance Manager for businesses worldwide in diverse industries including entertainment, nonprofit institutions, financial services, manufacturing and distribution. She brings to SomaTone extensive hands-on experience in management, business planning, systems technology design and implementation, staff development, and investor relations. More than just managing the accounts, Tracy has played a significant role in our expended global financial presence.