Hi, I'm Fred Galpern

Community Specialist

Apple

January 2026 to Present

• Promoted to full-time Community Specialist role, deepening consumer insight and product empathy through daily direct customer engagement.
• Represent Apple as a brand ambassador while translating front-line customer intelligence into stronger creative and production leadership.
• Build cross-functional relationships that inform product strategy and user experience instincts.

Specialist (contract)

Apple

July 2025 to January 2026

• Delivered hands-on consumer experience representing Apple, developing product empathy and direct consumer insight through daily customer engagement.
• Guided customers through the full sales journey to find custom solutions.
• Assisted customers beyond sales with setup, troubleshooting, and device protection.

Executive Producer (consultant)

Tricky Fast Studios, LLC

January 2025 to July 2025

• Led business development for independent game studio focused on mobile, PC, and web.
• Created and delivered pitches for multiple original titles, generating interest from major publishers.
• Managed cross-functional teams across design, engineering, and art to drive innovation in game development.

Director of Digital Games

PuzzleNation

March 2013 to August 2024

• Founded mobile puzzle game studio and grew to profitability in 18 months.
• Grew studio from 0 to $2M ARR; delivered 12 word puzzle titles achieving a 4.7 star average and 50M installs.
• Reduced cost per install by 35% and doubled daily active users in 6 months.
• Negotiated featured placements in major app stores to triple organic installs during campaigns.
• Managed $1M annual marketing budget.

Executive Producer (consultant)

Hasbro | Harmonix Music

May 2014 to September 2017

• Directed cross-company integration for DropMix tabletop hardware and software game app.
• Shipped on schedule, 250k units Year 1, CES 2017 Gaming honoree.
• Coordinated 40-person external dev team and internal toy division on My Little Pony mobile game app, increased D30 retention.
• Mentored junior PM cohort, instituted agile rituals that cut iteration cycle time.

Executive Producer | Senior Product Manager

ION Audio (inMusic)

January 2009 to January 2013

• Launched iCade controller with ThinkGeek & Apple retail, 50k units sold Q1; grew library to 500+ titles in under two years.
• Drove $22M DJ rhythm game (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, iOS) from concept to publisher greenlight.
• Introduced portfolio strategy delivering 16 new hardware SKUs and boosting division annual revenue for 3 consecutive years.

Lead Producer | Art Manager

Blue Fang Games

March 2002 to January 2009

• Led team of 50 creators in design, development and shipping of Zoo Tycoon 2 (Wii/PC/DS) with $16M budget; 2M franchise units sold.
• Created proprietary task tracking and approval system, increased sprint velocity, licensed system to Epic & Harmonix.
• Managed publisher relationships with Microsoft and THQ, achieving 100% on time milestone acceptance.

Early Career

• Producer | Looking Glass Studios | 01/1998 to 03/2000 | PC and console game development team lead on System Shock 2 and Thief.

Teaching

• Instructor | Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) | 01/2016 to Present | Digital Art Software