Speakers 2024

Christofer Sundberg

Liquid Swords
Founder and COO

Serial entrepreneur and investor, based in Stockholm, Sweden. After working with marketing and PR on the publishing side of the business, he joined Paradox Entertainment in 1999, as a producer, business developer and game designer. In 2002, he started Avalanche Studios. Under his creative leadership, the studio created original IP’s such as Just Cause, theHunter, Renegade Ops and Second Extinction. 

After leaving Avalanche Studios in 2019, he founded Liquid Swords in late 2020. Liquid Swords was founded with a mission to simplify AAA+ game development and to focus on quality games, with a respectful relationship to its players. 

 

 

Anita Sarkeesian

Consultant and public speaker

Anita is a creative director, producer, and host with over a decade of experience leading teams to create award-winning, impactful work. As the Executive Director of Feminist Frequency and the Games and Online Harassment Hotline, she and her team work to end abuse in the games industry.

Anita cares deeply about justice which takes her in all sorts of directions, whether it’s hosting a podcast about feminism and popular culture, creating a video series about fascinating historical women who must not be forgotten, or building an emotional support hotline for the gaming community. At the core of everything she does is the desire to dismantle the social, economic, and political barriers that put marginalized people at a disadvantage.

 

 

David Housden

Composer

BAFTA and Ivor Novello nominated composer for ‘Disney Illusion Island’, also known for collaborations with visionary game developer Mike Bithell on the BAFTA winning Thomas Was Alone and Volume. Harnessing synths, strings, pianos and augmented found sounds, his sonic palette consistently pushes the boundaries of media music, winning the TIGA award for ‘Best Audio’ for his work on ‘Lost Words: Beyond the Page’. His recent projects include ‘Disney Illusion Island’ for Nintendo Switch and the reimagining of the Rare cult classic ‘Battletoads’ for Xbox. Currently working on Bonsai Collective’s dark, bullet-hell FPS ‘Luna Abyss’ among other unannounced titles.

 

 

Antonio Pašalić

WN Media Group
Program Director

Antonio spent his time in the industry building business conferences across China and Southeast Asia, while based in Beijing. He also managed ESL Asia‘s operations from Singapore. Aditionally, he pioneered the first Japanese B2B esports event. Now, returning to his passion for organizing and hosting conferences worldwide, he ventures into the realm of AI. Largely inspired by music, and cookbooks.

Antonia Forster

Unity
Senior XR Technical Specialist

Antonia is a Senior XR Technical Specialist at Unity, and an award-winning speaker and software developer, specializing in VR, AR, Spatial Computing and other immersive technology. As a self-taught coder and a TEDx speaker, she is passionate about sharing her expertise to empower game developers and creators from all backgrounds. Outside of work, Antonia is the Founder and Co-Creator of the world’s first LGBTQ+ VR Museum, a multi-award-winning immersive experience.

Craig Fletcher

Gameye
COO

Craig Fletcher is a seasoned entrepreneur. He founded Multiplay in 1997 and led its growth to become the UK’s largest video gaming events and Esports company, as well as the largest provider of online gaming servers. Now, Craig acts as a business angel, consultant and investor in the Esports, tech and video gaming space, and Gameye’s Chief Operating Officer. His goal? To drive Gameye’s mission of providing cutting-edge multiplayer server solutions amidst the industry’s increasing demands and challenges. When he’s not building businesses, you’ll find him geeking over the latest tech and games, or backing up all of Wikipedia for fun.

Matt Firor

ZeniMax Studios
Studio Director / President

Matt Firor is an industry veteran specializing in virtual world and live service massively multiplayer game technologies and entertainment. He is currently Studio Director at ZeniMax Online Studios (which he founded in 2007), and before that was Vice President and a founder of Mythic Entertainment. He has been making multiplayer games since the late 1990’s, with all 14 shipped titles being exclusively multiplayer.

Firor is best known for his giant live service online RPGs The Elder Scrolls Online (launched 2014 with ZeniMax Online) and Dark Age of Camelot (launched 2001 with Mythic Entertainment). He also shipped 12 other titles at Mythic and before including Rolemaster: Magestorm, Godzilla Online, Aliens Online, Spellbinder: The Nexus Conflict, Silent Death Online, and others. He has lectured at MIT, the University of Virginia, and USC.

 

 

Sébastien Pellicano

NACON
Head of International Sales

With over 15 years of experience in the video game industry, I am a dynamic professional specializing in international retail and digital sales, partner relations, and business development, with a proven track record of building long-term investor, developer, publisher, platform, and licensor partnerships.

Throughout my career, I have been consistently driven to achieve revenue growth and excelled in building high-performing sales teams.

My previous role as a Game Director provided me with a comprehensive understanding of managing diverse disciplines with varying objectives and tight deadlines.

Deeply committed to driving innovation and fostering collaboration within the global gaming community, I also take pride in being a devoted father to my 5-year-old son, balancing my passion for gaming with family life.

 

 

Shawn Alexander Allen

NuChallenger
Studio Head

Shawn Alexander Allen is an award winning game designer, artist, writer & the head of NuChallenger, creating dope art & culture with games as the primary focus. Shawn has spent >20 years working on AAA, indie, VR and gallery based game installations. Shawn has also organized some of the biggest global initiatives for giving Black & brown game creators opportunities in the industry. Shawn is obsessed with action movies, comedy, fighting games, RPGs, poetry, sneakers, rap music & greater Hip-Hop culture.

Susie McBeth

Raw Fury
CMO

Leading the marketing and sales efforts at Indie Un-Publisher Raw Fury, Susie is a creative force with a passion for helping games shine and get into the hands of gamers all over the world. She runs a multinational team distributed across the world and has played an important part in several award-winning marketing campaigns for brands such as Pringles and VTM. She is also a Limit Break mentor and, when not marketing games, is a poet and artist.

 

 

Johanna Pirker

Game Lab Graz
Lab Director

Dr. Johanna Pirker is a computer scientist leading the Game Lab Graz focusing on game and VR development, research, and education and is an active and strong voice of the local dev community. In 2011/12 she started researching and developing VR experiences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At the moment, she is Prof. for game development at the Graz University of Technology and researches games with a focus on AI, HCI, data analysis, and VR technologies. Johanna was listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of science professionals for her innovations in immersive technologies.

 

 

Jon Everist

Composer

Jon Everist is a multi award-winning, A2IM and ASCAP-nominated composer for games and film, writing music for franchises such as Overwatch 2, Shadowrun and PUBG as well as Mike Bithell’s The Solitaire Conspiracy. He also scored the critically acclaimed BattleTech video game which was nominated for ‘Best Video Game Score of the Year’ at the 34th ASCAP Screen Music Awards, and went on to win several other awards including honors from The Jerry Goldsmith Awards. Jon’s latest opus for the alternate 1930s pulp adventure The Lamplighters League was recorded at the world famous Abbey Road Studios and the soundtrack album (released via Lakeshore Records) is nominated for ‘Best Record From Games and Interactive Media’ at the 2024 A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) Libera Awards.

 

 

Ashley Blake

Andromeda Entertainment
COO

Ashley “ashleyriott” Blake is the Chief Operating Officer for Andromeda Entertainment, global publisher oftransformative VR content since 2019, and a finalist for Innovative VR Company of the Year at the 6th International VR Awards. After using VR to recover from spine surgery in the spring of 2018, she became convinced the future of healthcare, education, socialization, gaming, and everything was in-headset and decided to take a leave of absence from her fourteen-year career in retail pharmacy to pursue virtual reality. She has steered the community, communications, & marketing ships for over a dozen made-for-VR IPs & has helped teams successfully launch & maintain experiences on major VR platforms worldwide, including Meta, Steam, Viveport, Springboard, YVR, Pico, Huawei, NOLO, iQIYI, & PlayStation VR.

 

 

David Valjalo

Tencent Games
Creative Director, Studio Partnerships

David Valjalo defines agile career development. Beginning in retail over 20 years ago, he has worked as a tester (PlayStation), journalist (Edge magazine), consultant (Hit Detection, PlayStation), academic mentor (PlayStation), creative marketing director (Avalanche, Fatshark) and now oversees creative direction across a portfolio of projects at Tencent Games.

David is a cross-discipline communications expert with a unique, 360 understanding of videogames, interactive and visual storytelling.

 

 

Josie Fletcher

Massive Monster
Head of marketing

Josie has a degree in “weird internet stuff”. With over 6 years of social media experience from multiple game titles to Full-time streaming. Over Her time at Massive Monster she has made many viral campaigns such as “The Lamb making out with Red from angry bird” to “threatening the internet to add sex to the game”.

 

Jussi Tahtinen

Nitro Games
CEO & Co-founder

Jussi is a games industry veteran who has been developing games for +20 years. He’s the loud and proud CEO & Co-founder of NItro Games, a Nasdaq First North-listed Finnish games powerhouse focusing on mobile-first cross-platform games. Jussi is a versatile leader with experience from development and publishing to company management and funding. 

Noirin Carmody

Revolution Software
Co-Founder / COO

Noirin Carmody founder and COO at Revolution Software is responsible for strategic business affairs. Noirin is the Executive Producer of Revolution’s games including the Broken Sword Series and Beneath a Steel Sky Series. She was voted one of the top UK 100 women in Games in 2013. Noirin is an elected board member of the UK Interactive Entertainment Games Association (Ukie) and is a voting member of BAFTA. She also holds a number of pro bono appointments.

 

 

Vladimir Geršl

Cyber Sail Consulting
Founder

Vladimir Gersl, the founder of Cyber Sail Consulting, has made a significant impact on the gaming industry over the past two years. He leads one of the most influential consulting firms, with his experience including BAFTA nominations and two decades of senior and executive roles working with companies like Activision and Sony.

Under his guidance, Cyber Sail helps over 100 publishers and investors find suitable projects and manage portfolios. This shows the firm’s commitment to fostering growth and strategic alliances in the gaming sector. Vlad and his team’s dedication is instrumental in propelling both developers and publishers toward future success in the current gaming industry’s stormy seas.

Kristina Jankovic Obucina

SGA
Executive Manager

In charge of member relations, ecosystem building, programs, as well as events and initiatives, Kris is here to communicate with relevant stakeholders and provide all information about Serbia’s growing gaming ecosystem.

 

 

Tom Donegan

SpecialEffect
COO

Tom Donegan is the COO of SpecialEffect, with overall responsibly for fundraising and day-to-day operations at the charity. He has been involved since the very beginning, initially assisting the founder, his father Dr Mick Donegan, on a voluntary basis, then working in the fundraising team alongside Nick Streeter. His brother Bill Donegan has also worked at the charity since the early days, and now heads-up the R&D team behind ground-breaking resources like the new SpecialEffect DevKit.

Ivan Fernandez Lobo

Gamelab Barcelona
Founder

Ivan is a creative technologist with a deep understanding of the gaming/entertainment media business and 20+ years experience facilitating and developing strategic business relationships and partnerships between gaming, technology and media companies worldwide. Ivan was the co-founder and first ever president of the Spanish Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. In 2005 Ivan founded the Gamelab Barcelona conference, a global think-tank where industry leaders get together to exchange ideas and share their visions about the futures of Gaming and Interactive Entertainment. He has played a key role in the development of the Spanish videogames ecosystem, bridging the interests of the different governments and the industry, and connecting opportunities for them worldwide.

Juliette Auverny-Bennetot

Raw Fury
General counsel

Juliette is an entertainment lawyer who has spent the last twelve years working in the games industry, first at Paradox Interactive and today as Master of Rules™ at Raw Fury. She loves chasing infringers, cooking & drinking wine (not necessarily in that order).

 

 

Sanja Žugić

Playstudios Europe
Head of Studio Operations

Sanja Zugic, the Head of Studio Operations at Playstudios Europe, brings over a decade of experience in the gaming industry to the fore. A cornerstone of her career has been her dedication to community building, event organization, and fostering industry collaborations.
As a Serbian Games Association board member, she has contributed to shaping the development and direction of regional gaming community.

Sanja’s diverse background spans programming, marketing, operations, and event management, showcasing her as a leader who combines dynamic guidance with visionary insight. She is deeply dedicated to fostering young talent and spearheading innovation within the gaming community in the region. As a speaker, Sanja offers profound industry knowledge and a fervent vision for the future, making her an invaluable asset to her team and the company.

 

 

Gordon Van Dyke

Raw Fury
CPO & Co-Founder

With almost 20 years in the games industry, Gordon Van Dyke has worked on AAA to Indie. He has experienced everything from the highs of super hits to the lows and the ‘how do we pivot’ of super flops. He has developed and published games and everything else in between. Described as a Swiss Army Knife of the games industry, his skills and coolness under pressure have enabled Gordon to excel as Co-Founder and Chief Games Officer of Raw Fury, a pillar of Indie Games Publishing.

 

 

Youri Loedts

Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF)
Head of Games Fund

Youri was a journalist and editor-in-chief for the Dutch version of the Official PlayStation Magazine for 13 years. He traded in journalism for marketing and was a lead creative for several marketing agencies, where he worked for top clients like Netflix, Fox, Warner Bros., Ubisoft, PlayStation, Xbox and many more. In 2018 he started working at VAF as their first Head of the Games Fund, to build out the games department.

 

Benni Hill

Bonsai Collective
Creative Director & Co-Founder

An experienced creative director, writer, and designer who has led the creative charge on critically acclaimed titles such as Ether One and Q.U.B.E. 2, and consulted on titles such as Hue, Lost Words: Beyond the Page, Worldless & Replaced. He was nominated for an IGF Award for Excellence in Design for his work on the video game Duskers in 2017, and also has won various awards as creative director, such as ‘Best Visual Design” at Reboot Develop 2023, for Bonsai Collective’s flagship title, Luna Abyss.

 

 

Ed Smith

AccelByte
Sales Director

Ed is a tenured sales leader from IT leaders like EMC and AWS. Ed has worked with clients all over the world and has led multinational teams. Having been one of the foundational members of AWS’s Game Tech team, Ed is responsible for building, and leading, a customer facing team who are focused on helping game developers release great games. When not working, Ed is either playing games (preferably strategy or FPS), cooking, or travelling.

 

Adam Boyes

Iron Galaxy Studios
Co-CEO

Adam started working in the game industry in 1996. Getting his start at Electronic Arts Canada in the QA department, Adam eventually moved to Chicago and joined Midway’s production team in 2003. During his time at Midway, Adam took on the role of Executive Producer, working on MLB Slugfest and Blitz: The League. From there, Adam migrated as Director of Production at Capcom Canada for a few years before deciding to start his own company, Beefy Media. In 2012, Adam joined Sony Interactive Entertainment America as Vice President of Third-Party Relations. His strong desire to get back to his roots and start working on the actual creation of games again led him to Iron Galaxy, where he guided the incubation, development, launch, and support of Rumbleverse.

 

 

Petri Alanko

Composer, Musician, Producer

Petri Alanko (aka Lowland) is a three-time BAFTA-nominated Finnish composer, musician and producer who creates deeply emotional soundscapes for visual media, including games, television and movies. His dynamic repertoire ranges from the haunting orchestral/electronic scores for Remedy Entertainment’s psycho-thriller, ALAN WAKE, to the thematic hybrid works of action blockbuster QUANTUM BREAK and the complex musical landscape of CONTROL featuring a twisted and ominous electronic sci- fi score for Remedy’s cinematic triumph. Returing to ‘The Dark Place’, Alanko’s latest musical adventure was composing the intense duality and character-driven score for Remedy’s supernatural horror sequel, ALAN WAKE II, released to universal critical acclaim in 2023.

 

 

John Graham

Elbow Grease Games (EGG)
Founder

John started his career in 2008 running bizdev for Wolfire Games while they shipped Lugaru HD, Receiver and Overgrowth.  In 2010 he co-founded Humble Bundle which was successfully acquired in 2017 and has gone on to raise $250 million for charity and counting. He has been a member of Indie Fund since 2013 having helped fund titles like Duskers, Tunic, Hyper Light Drifter and Hollow Knight. He quietly founded a game studio incubator called Elbow Grease Games in 2022.  EGG is finally coming out of stealth here at Reboot to announce its Prototype Funding model.

Anna-Carolin Weber

VR DANCE CLUB
Artistic Director

Award-winning scholar and dancemaker Anna-Carolin Weber works at the intersection of theory and practice, with media choreography as her main focus. As a freelance choreographer, she creates performances that explore dance in relation to Virtual Reality and digital media. Awards: „DIVR Science Award 2021 – Best Impact“ and „AVril Gold 2020“ for Virtual Reality Moves. 2024 Co-Founder of VR DANCE CLUB. 2021–2023 Federal Grants for Media-Choreography Performance Projects. 2008-2020 Academic Faculty Member at Ruhr-University Bochum, at Cologne University for Music and Dance, and at Cologne University for Media and Communication.

 

Jeffrey Hilbert

Final Strike Games
Founder

Jeff has been intimately involved in working with Independent Game Development Studios and Publishers in the Game industry for over twenty years, He is internationally recognized as one the top business executives in the video game industry having secured in excess USD 15,00,000,000 in funding for Development Studios directly or through his companies. Jeff provides unparalleled business development, and management expertise and has the valuable distinction of having represented publishers, distributors, and developers from start-up through exit. 

Jeff founded Starting Point Games to work more directly with a few select partners as part of their Executive Staff and as an active Advisor. Before Starting Point Games Jeff founded Digital Development Management (DDM), which quickly became the top video game agency in the world where he still serves as an Advisor.

 

 

Grégoire Charlier

NACON
Digital Sales Manager

With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I started my career by creating my own video game website, driven by a passion for delivering fresh news, compelling articles, and my unique vision of what I love. This initial experience led me to transition into retail, where I served as a store manager for Micromania, the French subsidiary of Gamestop.

Then, I seized the opportunity to contribute to the creation of the digital sales department at Nacon, where I have been dedicated for nearly 8 years now. In my current role, I oversee all aspects of digital sales distribution and associated revenue growth. Additionally, I manage direct relationships with first-party entities, lead all promotions plans for our all games worldwide on all stores, and facilitate the expansion of game titles onto new platforms while ensuring adherence to best practices across all digital stores.

 

 

Petr Sovis

PixelAnt Games Czech
Tech Director

Petr is a simulation coder focusing on animation, physics, and navigation systems andcomputer geometry with 25 years of experience.

 

Petr created animation engines and player gameplay code and tools for Mafia II (2010) and DayZ (2019). Also, he created physic system, animation code and navigation system from scratch for El Matador (2006) and acted as a lone coder for a bunch of smaller games including Rocket Boots Mania (2020).

All his time is now devoted to creating new worlds and new IPs in PixelAnt Games a Sumo Digital studio.

 

 

Nathan Sölbrandt

Xsolla
Business Development Manager Indies

 

Luka Dorotić

COLIC DOROTIC
Co-Founder / Partner

Luka is a partner at COLIC DOROTIC, a Zagreb based law firm that focuses on technology and IT industry.

With over a decade of expertise, Luka has been advising clients in the areas of corporate and commercial law, contributing to some of the most prominent transactions in the region.

Excited to discuss the legal side of gaming at the upcoming conference – let’s make law and tech the ultimate power couple!

 

 

Brogan Keane

Double Black Capital
Founder and Managing Partner

Brogan Keane is founder and Managing Partner of Double Black Capital, an investment bank advising leaders in media, entertainment, and gaming companies. DBC clients span the universe of leading content creators and enablers including Xsolla, Amber, GoodAI, Illfonic, Deck Nine, Super Jump Games, Keen Software House, and others. Brogan spent the first 15 years of his career as an operating leader in video game and consumer application companies of all sizes and maturities (Electronic Arts, OnLive, Sony). Brogan has also executed corporate restructurings and turnarounds in various media companies (SpeedDate, Smashcast) and, most recently, has focused on client-driven, lifecycle finance and growth advisory at DBC.

 

 

Maarten de Koning

DDM
Executive Vice President

With more than 15 years experience, Maarten de Koning is a highly respected executive, entrepreneur and advisor in the game industry. As Partner and Executive Vice President, Maarten has been with DDM since 2013 when he merged his own agency into the company.

He oversees the European and Asian markets, for which he is responsible for the expansion and servicing of clients, new business development and laying the groundwork for new services that are designed to provide even greater benefits to both the company and clients, such as DDM’s Investment Services, which aids both developers and investors with equity investment and M&A.

 

 

Ivar Kristjansson

1939 Games
Co-founder & CEO

Ivar Kristjansson has been in the gaming industry since 1997 when he co-founded  CCP, maker of EVE-Online, the billion dollar MMO. Ivar was the CEO when EVE-Online was launched in 2003 and later took on the position of CFO during his 17 years with CCP. Ivar co-founded 1939 Games with his brother Gudumundur in 2015 and is the CEO of that company. 1939 Games is the developer and publisher of KARDS, a WWII Digital Collectible Card Game.

Goran Adrinek

Croteam
Lead programmer

Veteran programmer at Croteam, a famous Croatian game development studio where he started his game development career more than 17 years ago. Raised on Croteam’s own Serious Engine, Goran started as a gameplay programmer, but soon became a jack of all trades, dealing with low-level engine systems, editor and pipeline tools, networking, scripting, and navigation—to name a few of the areas of his expertise. For the last couple of years, he’s been leading Croteam’s switch to Unreal Engine culminating with the release of The Talos Principle 2. Currently working on multiple unannounced projects in Unreal Engine.

Jonas Antonsson

Raw Fury
Reality Distortionist

Founder of Raw Fury, industry old timer, mother of dragons, father of children, amateur hot air machine, lover of potatoes and a little tea pot. Okay. That last thing isn’t true.

 

 

Rohan Pandula

Meta
AR/VR Developer Strategy

Rohan Pandula is a key figure in Meta’s 3rd party developer strategy team, where he leverages his extensive experience in business growth to aid developers in the XR space. His journey in the industry began with his own startup and has since seen him play a crucial role in the launch of major media platforms. A fervent advocate for XR since his first encounter with the DK1, Rohan has been integral to the launches of the Quest Pro and Quest 3, as well as the success of numerous VR titles. His passion for the field is matched by his commitment to helping the developer ecosystem thrive, making him a vital contributor to the future of XR.

 

Shum Singh

Agnitio Capital
Founder

 

 

Hendrik Lesser

remote control productions / EGDF
CEO / President

Serial entrepreneur Hendrik is well known as CEO of the international production house remote control productions and President of the European Game Developers Federation. After starting out in the industry as a Producer and Product Manager he has been building a family of independent development studios throughout Europe for over 13 years, which today consists of 13 teams in five countries with more than 270 passionate game makers. Hendrik is also a co-founder and Executive Producer of Chimera Entertainment, the 60 heads strong development studio behind the AAA mobile productions Angry Birds Evolution and Angry Birds Epic (100+ million downloads) and a yet to be announced title. Besides his roles as CEO and producer, Hendrik also is an avid lobbyist for the political and academic acceptance of video games as goods of cultural value.

Tom Kaczmarczyk

IndieBI
Co-founder

Originally a co-founder and business head of a successful games studio, Tom dedicated the last few years of his life to establishing IndieBI – a sales data platform for helping developers and publishers of all sizes sell more games with evidence-based best practices. Today, IndieBI is working for over 300 game companies, tracking over $1.5B of video game sales each year, and directly managing prestige indie titles grossing over $170M a year.

IndieBI is fully funded by other games companies and games industry friends and is actively pushing to become a meaningful force for good in our industry – leveling the playing field for upstart indies while giving super-powers to all who deal with the business and publishing of video games professionally.

Gerald Perndonner

Bongfish
Level Artist

Gerald is a Level Artist at Bongfish and has been an integral part of the Wargaming Art Team for the past 7 years. During this time, he contributed to the development of 11 maps for World of Tanks. His most recent project involved serving as the Art Owner for the 2023 release of the Frontline map “Fata Morgana,” overseeing the entire Map Art Production process.
In 2005, Gerald began his academic journey, majoring in geography and computer science to pursue a teacher’s degree. Simultaneously, he started working as a Level Artist part-time. In 2017, he made the bold decision to follow his passion full-time by joining the Bongfish Art Team. Here, he has the opportunity to merge his interests in botany, physical and human geography, and his love for gaming to craft stunning, diverse, and lifelike open world environments.

 

 

Johan Toresson

Raw Fury
Head of Scouting

From selling nail polish and rat poison to fish mongering and food delivery, Johan went from odd jobs to an odd career in games. From running a premium games festival in Karlshamn, Sweden, to running scouting for Raw Fury, there’s few places along the way that doesn’t come with bad idea and a good story.

 

 

Huei Chan

Pumpkin VR
Co-Founder / Marketing & Business Director

Huei is a marketing & business leader, serving as the co-founder of Pumpkin VR, an XR gaming and cloud company based in Taiwan. She has driven International Collaborations / Partnerships across APAC, the US, and Europe, leading initiatives in product design, launches, fundraising, business development, and team management. Her profound interest in human behavior fuels her passion for Marketing and Creative Design, where she focuses on crafting unique interactions between products and the audience. Her recent works include: QUANTAAR, a VR party brawler (music published by Universal Music) available on major VR platforms, and Unframed Collection, the first global VR distribution platform designed for cultural venues. Apart from work, she loves diving, social dancing, and hitting the gym.

 

 

Alexander Bergendahl

LootLocker
Co-Founder & CEO

Alexander is the co-founder and CEO of LootLocker. He is a serial entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience in game development and publishing and has founded and led game start-ups for 10 years as CEO and COO. Most recently, he served as the COO of Hatrabbit Entertainment, which he led to a successful acquisition by King in 2019.

Shirley Lin

1000Rivers.io
Managing Partner

Based in Silicon Valley and Belgium, 1000 Rivers is an early stage angel fund aiming to invest and advise promising teams in the Web 3 gaming and commerce sectors.

Her previous capacities include as co-founder at RunAppRun, cofounder/Chief Business Development officer at DOGI.io and DOGIgames, VP of Global Business Development at Yomob where she was the key author of the white paper for the company’s blockchain project (data.eco), Nexway, YeahMobi and Beintoo.

 

 

Patrick Sweeney

Interactive Entertainment Law Group
Attorney

Patrick Sweeney is the founder of the Interactive Entertainment Law Group. He is one of the leading attorneys in the video game industry, having served both as in-house and external counsel to a variety of companies in his career. In his 25 years in the games industry, Sweeney has negotiated an array of game development agreements for more than 1000 games and over 50 film, TV and comic licenses, and dozens of M&A/corporate investment deals. The firm has represented 400+ clients from over 30 different countries.

 

 

Christopher Meredith

Xsolla
Senior executive

Christopher Meredith, a senior executive, visionary strategist, and brand revitalization expert with over 25 years in interactive entertainment. His leadership has driven growth and profitability across global markets, from startups to corporate giants, and propelled world-class brands to ensure market dominance. Chris builds and motivates teams to champion his vision. Notable roles include Sony PlayStation, where he set new standards in gaming experiences; Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, launching chart-topping titles; MTV Games, innovating music-themed gaming; and Glu Mobile, creating globally resonant mobile games. His career symbolises the power of visionary leadership and dedication.

Ilari Kuittinen

Housemarque
Co-Founder / Studio Head

Ilari is the Co-Founder and Studio Head of the award-winning game studio Housemarque. He started his career in 1993, when he co-founded one of the first game studios in Finland, before co-founding Housemarque with Harri Tikkanen two years later. After 26 years of full-time entrepreneurship and running an independent game studio, Housemarque joined PlayStation Studios family in 2021. The studio’s most recent game Returnal released in 2021 on PS5 was a critically acclaimed title with a metacritic score of 86. The game also won several prestigious game awards such as Best Action Game at The Game Awards and many game of the year awards including Bafta Best Game Award. The company is currently focusing on developing the next game production under PlayStation Studios umbrella and has grown to 110 people strong company. Their purpose is to create unique game experiences and their system goal is to create a product-focused learning organization that is optimized for adaptiveness, learning, and customer value.

 

 

Tara Đorić

Tender Troupe
Live Ops Manager

Tara is the Live Ops Manager for adult games Kink.inc and Booty Farm, and Narrative Designer on the latter. She delivers intertwining romance storylines that meet players’ desire for intimacy – starting from a place of dev team comfort. Prior work as a community manager comes in handy in bridging the gap between player needs and development possibilities.

Her biggest accomplishment is establishing a streamlined pipeline that allows both in-house and outsourced teams to deliver content-rich events on a weekly basis – no crunch involved. She enjoys bringing human, lighthearted sensibilities into the adult gaming niche, and workshopping opportunities for anyone’s ideas to come to life.

 

 

Thomas Tuts

Streaming Toolsmith
Founder

As Streaming Toolsmith, Thomas helps gaming companies improve live viewership. After realizing the vast untapped potential of game integrations for live streaming, he embarked on a one-man mission to help game developers and publishers make games more engaging and interactive when they’re watched live.