Leadership Day by IGDA Finland

There were no dedicated games leadership conferences in Europe... so we decided to make one! Leadership Day by IGDA Finland is an international event about how we build companies, teams and working cultures to build better games. We held the inaugural conference in 2019 and with the support of the community, aim to make it an annual forum for leadership in games.

#cultureofsharing

Games companies, their inner workings and cultures are some of the least documented aspects of game development. Yet we and our work are all defined by these choices every single day. Join us in learning and challenging the cutting edge of leadership in games from some of the brightest minds in the industry!

Less, but better

This one day event is designed around a thought provoking speaker track and ample room for networking with industry peers. We will of course organize an IGDA Mentorship Cafe to help you grow your professional network.

Like all things IGDA Finland, the conference is non-profit and made possible by our volunteers and partners.

Schedule

One day - full ride!

All times are Helsinki Time (EEST/UTC +03:00)

9:45 - 10:00 Welcoming words by the organizers

10:00 - 11:00 Keynote: Leading Fast and Slow by Matias Myllyrinne, CEO/Co-Founder, Redhill Games

11:00 - 12:00 From Zero to Lead by Ari Arnbjörnsson, Unreal Engine Evangelist, Epic Games

12:00 - 13:30 IGDA Mentor Cafe & Lunch break

13:30 - 14:30 Leadership Mythbusting by Maria Maunula, Producer, Nitro Games

14:30 - 15:30 Games for Good Fireside Chat with Deborah Mensah-Bonsu, Founder, dmb crew

15:30 - 16:30 Leading Creativity Through Stories by Tatu Petersen-Jessen, Senior Art Director, Rovio Entertainment

16:30 - 17:30 Diversity & Inclusion Panel with Taina Myöhänen (We In Games Finland), Dan Bernardo (Playta Games) and Sarah Spires (IGDA Foundation).

17:30 - 18:00 Closing words

19:00 IGDA Annual General Meeting

Matias Myllyrinne

Redhill Games

During his 20+ years in the industry, Matias built several successful teams which shipped successful games under his leadership. His key strengths are in strategy, understanding products and market opportunities while building well-performing teams. Matias is the CEO and Chairman of the Board at Redhill Games, a Helsinki headquartered studio with a satellite office in Cyprus. Redhill Games was founded by a seasoned team of industry veterans in 2018. Redhill just recently released its first game – first person shooter “Nine to Five” into Early Access on Steam.

Dan Bernardo

Playta Games

Originally from Brazil, Dan studied Anthropology before building a career over more than 17 years as a C-Level Creative Director for a range of start-ups and large businesses. In 2019 Dan decided to found Playtra Games and use his experience assembling talented teams and building efficient products in pursuit of his childhood dream of creating games. Dan is an advocate for alternative narrative structures and cultural diversity in games, quickly becoming one of the most active voices in the indie gaming scene in the UK. He gives talks on those subjects at game events around the world, including PAX, PGC, GDC, BFI and DEVCOM, where he currently sits in its advisory board.

Maria Maunula

Nitro Games

Maria draws inspiration and positive reinforcement in teambuilding from her many years of experience in customer experience and community management. She establishes the team's building blocks from mutual respect and shared responsibility while allowing individuals to have strong ownership of their area of expertise. Infused with agile methodologies, she feels confident working with small teams, ensuring efficient and fast results.

Sarah Spires

IGDA Foundation

Sarah Spiers is the Interim Executive Director for the IGDA Foundation and is an award-winning game producer from Madison, WI, currently working at PUBG Corporation. Her passions lie in growing small and mid-sized studios and organizing international communities for marginalized game developers. Previously, Sarah worked in commercial and educational game spaces where she partnered with organizations ranging from local non-profits to Fortune 500 companies to bring their IP to an interactive format.

Deborah Mensah-Bonsu

Games For Good

Deborah is the Founder of dmb crew and its flagship initiative Games for Good, which focuses on harnessing games and industry for social impact. She and her team consult for console and mobile studios as well as UNEP’s Playing for the Planet, to help create healthier cultures, products and communities. She was a print and tv journalist before becoming a producer and content guru in games. She is a Special Effect Ambassador, was named one of the Top 100 Women in Games in 2019, and has been a speaker at conferences around the world.

Tatu Petersen-Jessen

Rovio Entertainment

Over the past two decades, Tatu has worked in various creative and management roles in more than 50 globally published games, from AAA to mobile, at companies such as Digital Chocolate, Remedy and Rovio, where he currently works as a Senior Art Director in it’s Puzzle Studio.

Ari Arnbjörnsson

Epic Games

Ari Arnbjörnsson is an Unreal Engine evangelist for the Nordics and Baltics. He has 14 years of varied games industry experience ranging from social, web and mobile games to console games. His last project was Housemarque’s Returnal for PlayStation 5, where he served as a lead programmer.

Taina Myöhänen

We in Games Finland

A researcher who has worked in project, people and business management in the ICT industry since 1999, and in the games industry since 2006. In We in Games Finland, my ultimate goal is to make the gaming industry the best place to work for everyone.