Gary Schofield brings over 17 years of sales and sales management experience, orchestrating sales and business development efforts at some of the top mobile software companies worldwide. During his career, he has architected and led numerous highly successful global sales teams while establishing long term relationships with many of world’s top carriers. Most notably, he was Vice President, Worldwide Sales for SEVEN Networks, a leading developer of mobile messaging solutions.

“Gary’s deep experience and success in building partnerships and generating solid results are well known throughout the mobile industry,” said Trip Hawkins, founder and CEO of Digital Chocolate. “He possesses a vision for our industry and a global perspective that is critical in further cementing Digital Chocolate’s position as a leading mobile game publisher.”

Digital Chocolate’s new board member, Scott Sassa, has been a prominent figure in the entertainment media industry for over two decades. Best known for his work in network television, he served as president of NBC West Coast and was responsible for overseeing all of NBC’s entertainment-related businesses. He currently serves as CEO-in-Residence at the venture capital firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers. Sassa also spent nine years in senior positions at Turner Broadcasting System, finishing his tenure there as president of Turner Entertainment Group and a member of the Turner Board of Directors and the TBS Executive Committee. Following his time with NBC, Sassa served as president and CEO of Friendster, a top 50 Internet site that pioneered social networking.

“Scott’s extensive experience in developing and distributing new media that connect people socially through networked communities will offer keen insight for Digital Chocolate as we pursue our own objectives in that area,” said Hawkins. “As we continue to leverage the community created by wireless networks through our socially-connected mobile games like MLSNTM Sports Picks, Scott’s understanding and support of the social networking concept will prove invaluable.”

Last month Digital Chocolate unveiled a new class of networked mobile games which allow consumers to play and connect with friends and members of the Digital Chocolate community, redefining how consumers interact with their mobile phones. These new games are based on an innovative client-server architecture which allows Digital Chocolate to create a game-play model based on networked communities of interacting players with regularly refreshed content. The first game of the series, MLSN Sports Picks, in which members predict outcomes to upcoming sports events to earn points and gain recognition, will launch later this month on Sprint, Cingular, and other major wireless operators.