Howard Donaldson has been appointed as the new president of DigiBC, the provincial nonprofit association of digital media and wireless companies.

Donaldson is the former vice president of studio operations for Disney Interactive Studios and the cofounder of Propaganda Games, which was shuttered by Disney earlier this year. Prior to founding Propaganda, he was the chief financial officer for EA Canada.

According to its website, DigiBC represents technology companies in the province that work in mobility, video games, animation and visual effects, social media, and interactive marketing. Members include Electronic Arts, Disney, Rainmaker Entertainment, Nokia, Sierra Wireless, and hundreds of others.

The focus of the association had been on the wireless industry, and Donaldson said in an interview with the Straight that he doesn’t expect much of a shift in priority. On his mobile phone, he said, “The wireless side is becoming more important as our world becomes more mobile.” More and more, he said, people from the video game industry are taking games to the mobile space.

Michael Bidu became president of the association after it was formed from the merger of New Media B.C. and WINBC (Wireless Innovation Network of British Columbia) in 2009.

Donaldson said that Bidu will be staying on the board of DigiBC, but that as an entrepreneur, was taking this opportunity to return to the private sector.

When Disney shut Propaganda down, Donaldson was asked to relocate to the Los Angeles area. “I really consider B.C. my home,” he said. Taking charge at an industry association wasn’t something he’d contemplated doing, but he appreciates the chance to give back.

“This is an opportunity for me to spend the next several years helping the industry in an era when it’s very competitive and I think we need to do a better job promoting the industry and profiling our companies here.”

As the head of the B.C. Interactive Task Force, Donaldson was instrumental in lobbying the provincial Liberal government for labour tax credits for the video game and other digital media companies. The 17.5 percent credit took effect in September of 2011.

Donaldson, who said he’d stay involved with the task force, admitted that the labour tax credit was too little, too late to help Propaganda. Disney executives took note of the implementation of the tax credit, he said, and if the credit were larger and had taken effect a year or two earlier, it could have affected the decision to close Propaganda.

But the industry veteran is positive that the bleak situation for the video game industry in Vancouver can be turned around. “That’s going to be one of my initiatives going forward,” he said. “Digital media in general is growing at 12 percent a year. The overall video games industry on all platforms is projected to grow at 10 percent a year. Which is twice as much as all other media and entertainment sectors. So there’s a huge opportunity.”

Donaldson takes the reins of DigiBC in mid April.

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight