Turbine has recently announced the appointment of a new Vice President of Operations. Ken Surdan will take the lead overseeing worldwide operations of Turbine's games: The Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online and Asheron's Call. What experience does Surdan bring to the table? Read on to find out what this means for Turbine's games and learn a little about the new VP of Operations in this press release.

WESTWOOD, MA – March 9, 2008 – Turbine, Inc., the premier creator and operator of massive, persistent online worlds that foster powerful social gaming communities, today announced the appointment of Ken Surdan as Turbine’s new Vice President of Operations. Surdan will be responsible for overseeing worldwide operations including network operations, project management and customer service and support for Turbine's award-winning franchises.

“Ken brings an extensive ecommerce and consumer facing operations background that will be vital as Turbine scales its global operations,” said Jim Crowley, President and CEO of Turbine, Inc. “We’re really excited to bring Ken’s strong record of accomplishment and his passion for the customer to bear on our rapidly growing business. This powers up the senior management unit at Turbine significantly.”

Ken brings over 15 years of experience in driving high-growth companies by building world-class technology and operational teams. His previous roles include stints at TripAdvisor Media Network®, where he was the Senior Vice President for Technology; SmartBargains.com™, where he was Chief Operating Officer responsible for all service, operations and technology for the high growth online retailer, and National Leisure Group®, an online travel company, where as CTO Ken grew the business and technology platform, enabling growth from $80M to $900M in revenues.

“I’ve had the good fortune to work with some of the best online organizations in the business,” said Surdan. “Yet Turbine really brings something unique to the table in terms of its proven ability to operate massive online games, as well as manage the complex online customer ecosystems which surround each of their multiple titles. I’m thrilled to join the team which will now build the technology and operations platform that will define the next generation of online entertainment. Our plans are to literally play a category leading role in how tomorrow’s systems are built and monitored to support these massive, interactive, transaction-based environments!”