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After several months of searching following the resignation of longtime IGDA director Jason Della Rocca, the International Game Developers Association(IGDA) has named Joshua Caulfield the new executive director of the organization.

Unlike Della Rocca, Caulfield does not come from within the computer or video game industry -- but he is a gamer, he told Gamasutra in an interview in advance of today's announcement.

Rather, his experience is with professional associations in other fields. Most recently, he served as the executive VP of the American Machine Tool Distributors Association.

In recent months, the IGDA has been the subject of much debate, particularly with respect to various actions surrounding members of its board of directors, and questions as to the association's specific purpose.

Caulfield hopes to bring his professional association experience to bear on those issues, telling Gamasutra he will be learning as much as possible about the industry and its members in the coming months, and adding, "We're going to work on being much more open to the membership and the industry at large."