A BOSS at the Bournemouth company that develops video games for famous names such as Lego is to be the guest speaker at an event for start-ups.

Mike Hawkyard has been managing director of Amuzo, which grew to become a team of 30 game-makers, creating games such as Lego City and Lego Ninjago Ride Ninja.

He is now chief strategy officer at the company's "serious games division", Gamebrain.

Mr Hawkyard, who has also worked with KPMG and the RNLI, aims to inspire local entrepreneurs at a meeting of Startup Grind Bournemouth on Wednesday, February 20.

As well as sharing his knowledge of starting a gaming app development business, he will discuss how to build successful games, the power of ‘gamified’ learning and the future of digital gaming.

Mr Hawkyard said: “The chance to speak at Startup Grind is an exciting prospect for me.

“I look forward to sharing my experience with the start-ups of Bournemouth and hope to offer valuable insights to the attendees of this event.”

Marcus Wincott, director of Startup Grind Bournemouth, said: “Mike is a great speaker to have at this event and we are super excited to see what insights he will share with us.

“Digital gaming is constantly changing and developing. Attendees of this Startup Grind Bournemouth event can expect to learn all the tips and tricks on how to succeed in this electrifying industry. I’m really looking forward to this one.”

Startup Grind Bournemouth is part of an organisation spanning more than 500 cities, with more than two million entrepreneurs worldwide.

The Bournemouth organisation has more than 450 members who meet every month for “fireside chats” with industry leaders, innovators and educators.

The most recent Startup Grind Bournemouth event heard from local entrepreneur Jim Cregan, the co-founder of Jimmy’s Iced Coffee, who spoke about the challenges of scaling business into the £5.5million brand.

Startup Grind’s evening with Mike Hawkyard is at 6pm at Media Lounge in Christchurch Road, Bournemouth.

More information is available at startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-bournemouth-presents-mike-hawkyard-digital-gaming/#/