Outspark, the free-to-play MMO portal that offers games such as Fiesta, Wind Slayer and Secret of the Solstice, announced today that Owen Mahoney has been appointed as the company's new chief executive officer. Mahoney has more than 15 years of experience working in the digital media sector and was most recently the senior vice president of corporate and business development at Electronic Arts for nine years. He replaces Outspark's founder and current CEO Susan Choe, who will continue to serve as chairman of the board.

So what does this change mean for Outspark? According to the announcement, "Mr. Mahoney will accelerate Outspark’s continued expansion of its global user base from North America where it is has the largest free-to-play MMO audience." You can read the full press release after the jump.

San Francisco, Calif. – September 8, 2009 – Outspark, the premier North American publisher for free-to-play massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, today announced the appointment of Owen Mahoney as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mahoney’s career path spans traditional and online media including senior executive roles at Electronic Arts Inc., the leading global independent developer and publisher of video games. Outspark’s Founder and current CEO, Susan Choe, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and work with game developers on partnering with Outspark.

Mr. Mahoney will accelerate Outspark’s continued expansion of its global user base from North America where it is has the largest free-to-play MMO audience. The company has also established a rapidly growing community in Europe and in the Pacific Rim where free-to-play games have attracted large audiences for many years.  Currently, Outspark has a registered user base of more than 4.7 million globally, and since the company launched in 2007, traffic to Outspark has grown to 5.4 million unique visitors a month.

“Since founding Outspark early 2007, the Freemium MMOG market has evolved dramatically.  Outspark’s team has built a leading game publishing company, executing solid growth while bringing together a unique MMOG publishing platform with social community elements,” said Susan Choe. “With Owen’s leadership and business experience in the global gaming industry, Outspark will evolve as a leading global game industry player.”

Mr. Mahoney brings more than 15 years experience working in the digital media sector. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President of corporate and business development at Electronic Arts, and during his 9-year tenure from 2000-2009, he led the company’s worldwide corporate development activities including acquisitions, equity investments and strategic partnerships. Previously, Mr. Mahoney has held numerous executive positions at online and software companies in both the U.S. and Asia, including PointCast, Claris Japan and Radius.  Mr. Mahoney holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and attended the University of Tokyo’s graduate law program.

"Having the opportunity build on Susan’s success is a great privilege and I'm honored by the board's endorsement," said Owen Mahoney. "Outspark appeals to a vast global user base and to everyone who wants to establish a connection with gamers around the world in real time. Outspark’s game publishing platform and portal also offer fantastic opportunities to both content developers and game publishers, and I look forward to providing value for Outspark, our loyal user base, investors and our great staff."

Outspark has enjoyed rapid success with a unique business model that has created a flourishing online community around the concept of engaging social events, in-game and around-game networking, user-generated content and a personalized user experience. Outspark currently offers five mid-casual MMO games with more titles being launched this year.