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Speakers
Latest speakers:
Kevin Farrar (Smarter Planet Business Incubation & IBM Academic Initiative, IBM)
Panel guests:
Helen W Kennedy (DIGRA/ Deputy Head of Department of Culture, Media and Drama, UWE)
David Smith (Managing Director, Interactive Selection)
Nicola Bhalerao (Senior Software Engineer, Rare- Microsoft Game Studios)
Maria Stukoff (Academic Partnership Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
Venita Pereira (Designer, Team 17)
Jessica Kelham (Production Assistant, Team 17)
Hollie Heraghty (Recruitment Manager, Aardvark Swift)
Rebecca Bull
Rebecca Bull MCIPD is Human Resources Manager at Monumental Games. She is a Chartered member of the Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) holding a post graduate diploma in Human Resources Management and a Diploma in Managment from The Business School at Nottingham Trent University. After living overseas, Rebecca started her HR career and has worked in the Gaming Industry for over 14 years. Rebecca has a passion for Gaming start up's and the people within them. With broad experience of fast moving and change driven environments both operationally and strategically, Rebecca has broad HR experience in developing HR functions across Recruitment, C&B, Projects, ER and International HR activity - having operated in many start up's across Multi Site, European and International businesses. Rebecca represents Monumental Games on the HR Group at TIGA.
Sheri Graner Ray
Sheri Graner Ray is a Senior Designer with Schell Games and head up their satellite studio in Austin, Texas. She has been in the game industry since 1989 and has worked for such companies as Electronic Arts, Origin Systems, Sony Online Entertainment and Cartoon Network. During her career she has worked with such licenses as Star Wars Galaxies, Ultima, FusionFall, and Nancy Drew. She is author of the book, “Gender Inclusive Game Design-Expanding the Market” and is one of the game industry’s leading experts on gender and computer games. In 2005 she was awarded the IGDA’s Game Developer’s Choice award for her work in gender and games and she is currently serving as the chair of Women In Games International; an organization she co-founded. She was a keynote speaker at the first Women in Games conference in 2004.
Helen Kennedy
Helen W. Kennedy is current President of the Digital Games Research Association and has been an active supporter of Women in Games since its launch in 2004. She has published widely on games, play, technology and feminism. She has been the Chair of the Play Research Group at the University of the West of England since 2005 and is now leading that strand of research in the newly formed Digital Cultures Research Centre in Bristol.
Dr. Aphra Kerr
Dr. Aphra Kerr is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the National University of Ireland Maynooth where she teaches courses on media and technology in society. For the past ten years her research has primarily focused on exploring the production and consumption of digital games. Recent single authored publications include The Business and Culture of Digital Games (Sage 2006) and she has chapters in Trade versus Culture in the Digital Environment. (Edward Elgar, forthcoming), Managing Media Work (Sage forthcoming), A Strategy Guide for Studying the Grand Theft Auto Series (McFarland Press, 2007) and Understanding Digital Games (Sage, 2006). She has also authored a number of journal articles related to digital media, innovation, cultural diversity and gender. Aphra is a committee member of Women in Games and she established and helps to run the community and industry website www.gamedevelopers.ie.
Hannah R Marston
Hannah R Marston has recently completed a PhD in Virtual Reality and Gerontology at Teesside University, Middlesbrough. Her background is computing and through her graduate studies has become aware of the field of Gerontology. Her research investigated what was important to the older adult - computer game content or interaction? Some of her research interests include technology, gaming, ageing, young/older audiences and communities. She is a member of several national and international organisations and is currently the Technology Chair for Emerging Scholar & Professional Organisation (ESPO) the student arm of The Gerontological Society of America, in addition she is the Senior Student Representative for the membership committee for ESPO and is an active committee member of Emerging Researchers in Ageing (ERA), the student arm of the British Society of Gerontology (BSG).
Paul Mayze
Paul Mayze is the Chief Operating Officer at Monumental Games. Prior to entering the games industry, Paul worked in communications and business strategy roles for a series of entertainment and new media companies, including the advertising giant Publicis. Paul holds first-class degrees in English Literature and Computer Science, and in 2007 received an MBA from Cranfield School of Management. Since joining Monumental, Paul has presented at London Games Week, Games Horizon, Ogilvy Games Day and other conferences. He is currently a director of TIGA.
Andrew Walker
Andrew has been in the videogames industry for around 20 years, and he has worked for Imagitec, Sunflowers Interactive (Germany), Dreamweavers (later Gremlin Interactive), Sony Computer Entertainment, Rage Software, Rockstar and Team 17 Software, during which time he has been involved in virtually every aspect of videogame art creation and project management. At Sony Computer Entertainment, He was in the art team that received a BAFTA for visual design for Wip3out. He also created the art departments at both Sunflowers GmbH and Rage's Leeds studio, where he was respectively artistic director and art manager. In 2001 he formed his own company called R8 games to develop original IP for next generation consoles and won startup up funds from Start! Games Ltd, a funding venture set up by Telewest to promote development talent in the uk. He is now CEO of Neutek Ltd an education services provider and he lectures part-time at Teeside University.
Annette Williams
Annette is Director of the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC). In 2004 Annette became founding director of the UKRC, the organisation which leads the Government Strategy on Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (DTI, 2003) with headquarters based in Bradford and devolved national centres in Wales and Scotland. UKRC offers solutions to business and organisations to implement gender equality practices and provides an extensive range of support measures for women to progress their careers. Annette has twenty five years experience gained from working in and teaching engineering and subsequently developing national programmes to increase the participation and position of women scientists and engineers. Annette passionately believes in challenging the cultures which exclude women from fully participating in SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) and in supporting women to enter and flourish in these areas of work. She is the UK representative on the EU's Helsinki Group for Women and Science, member of the Expert Group for Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and chair of the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) Advisory Board. In 2010 an honorary doctorate from the Open University will be conferred to Annette Williams.
Richard Wilson
Dr Richard Wilson is CEO of TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry. TIGA's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business.
Richard was previously Director of Communications at the Royal Academy of Engineering (2006-2008). Prior to this, Richard was Head of Business Policy at the Institute of Directors (1998 - 2006), one of the UK's leading business representative bodies. Richard has held a diverse range of non-executive positions: in the food and drink industry (Improve, 2004-2007); adult training (the Adult Learning Inspectorate, 2005-2007); small business (Chair of the Better Payment Practice Group, 2004-2006). He has also served as a member of Edexcel's Qualifications Committee (2006-07).
Richard taught politics at Reading University and was awarded a PhD for his thesis in political theory. Richard is an enthusiastic, but unsuccessful, author. He submitted his PhD thesis for publication in 1996: no publisher would touch it. He wrote a book with Andrew Lansley (now the MP for Cambridgeshire South) in 1997: it was not a best seller. Richard is relieved and happy to be serving as TIGA CEO.
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