Meet the voices shaping the future at Womenize!
Our speakers are advocates of diversity, equity, and inclusion, driving meaningful conversations and pushing boundaries in the games industry. Get inspired by their journeys, insights, and expertise as we unite to empower all marginalized voices!
Below you find our speakers for our upcoming event that takes place on June 4, 2025 at Institut Français Berlin as well as of our last years event that took place on June 5, 2024.
Alina Cuceu (she/her) is the Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at Kolibri Games. She immensely enjoys being the first point of contact for countless applicants, and relishes any opportunity to help herself and others learn and grow. Her industry events have so far included a collaboration with Rise & Play, and the HIT Games Conference.
Session: Your First Quest: Entering the Gaming Industry with Confidence
Marina Díez (she/they) is a Spanish award-winning game designer, game director, business expert, filmmaker and Forbes Under 30 lister based in Berlin living a semi nomadic life. Marina is also a Game Director for an unannounced game and Principal Game Designer at btf Games for The Berlin Apartment. Previously, she was the Lead Game Designer for the game Dordogne by Un Je Ne Sais Quoi Studios & Umanimation. Marina is also a consultant on emotional game design for indie and AAA companies.
In addition, Marina is joining the venture capitalist field, focusing on seed and early-stage investments. With her unique blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and passion for supporting visionary founders, she is dedicated to helping startups and indie studios navigate their early challenges and scale with purpose. Marina actively seeks out disruptive projects that push boundaries and foster a more inclusive and dynamic future for the gaming industry and beyond. She is involved in many community initiatives and activism. Marina is also a regular speaker at games events such as GDC, EGX, PAX, A MAZE,… In 2023 she also hosted Independent Games Festival at GDC in San Francisco.
Marina is also a film director and her work has been screened and awarded all over the world.
Melanie Fussenegger (she/her) studied media technology and media art with a focus on computer graphics and digital games in Stuttgart and Salzburg. Most recently, she worked as a project manager at the Digital Games Culture Foundation, where she was responsible for organizing a conference on “AI Utopia and Dystopia: How AI and Games Are Shaping Futures” and a regional educational program for founders of indie studios in Berlin and Brandenburg. Before that, she worked as an agile project manager and lecturer, among other things.
She recently ventured into self-employment with her passion project KunstSpiel, a blog about the interplay between traditional art forms and digital games. Her passion for digital games as a form of art and expression motivates her to actively shape the future of this medium.
Session: Off the Beaten Path: Navigating a Nonlinear Journey into the Games Industry
Lukas Galinski (he/him) is leading sustainability and public benefit projects and developments at INSTINCT3. Lukas’ studies in economics and sports economics brought him to his entry into the industry in 2018 at Jung von Matt/Sports in Hamburg. In 2020 and after three years in esports marketing, he joined INSTINCT3 in Berlin-Spandau to set his focus on influencer marketing in the gaming industry. In his current role, he is educating about sustainability issues internally, building partnerships with non-profit organizations and leading public benefit projects.
Outside of his job, Lukas is active as a lecturer for gaming influencer marketing and as a member of D64 e.V. All kind of active sports, occasional PC gaming and board gaming are part of his recreational routine.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Kerr (she/her) is Team Lead Customer Support at Gameforge and has an academic background in communication and journalism, fields that have fueled her passion for storytelling and effective information sharing. With nearly a decade of experience in Gaming Support, she has developed a deep understanding of player needs and industry dynamics. In 2018, she advanced to a leadership role, where she has since guided and supported her team with expertise and dedication.
Outside of work, Kerr is an avid reader who can never resist adding more books to her ever-growing collection. She pursued a degree in psychology but ultimately chose to prioritize her love of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), fully immersing herself in the creativity and camaraderie they offer.
Session: Herr Kerr – Why I never correct players about my gender
Ulrike Küchler (she/her) is CEO and Co-Founder of Gamebook Studio, dedicated to making simulation games scalable in and beyond the entertainment industry with season-based content and the award winning Gamebook Platform.
The games she has been working on include originals and partnerships with global industry leaders such as Hasbro, Skybound Entertainment, and iDreamSky. She builds on an extensive 20+ year background in the creative industries and across media and platforms such as broadcasting, film, music, publishing, and gaming.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Aysuda Kölemen (she/her) (Bard College Berlin) is an academic who received her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA. Her current research focuses on the combined threat that autocratization and precarious academic employment poses to academic freedom. She also manages a fellowship program for at-risk scholars.
Aysuda Kölemen received her doctorate in political science from the University of Georgia, Athens, USA, in 2010. She worked as a researcher in Turkey until 2017 and currently serves as a project manager for the Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative (TSI) of the Open Society Foundations, an international scholarship program for persecuted academics.
She is a longtime team member of Food for Thought, where she co-writes the stories and educational content for narrative games.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Klemes Reckfort (he/him) is an Indie Game Developer based in Berlin. He worked on games and prototypes with a range from scientific backgrounds to commercial releases such as Sea of Solitude. Currently, Klemens works remotly on an unannounced project at Monokel GmbH, Cologne.
Portfolio
Session: Support your Artistic Voice
Astrid Mie Refstrup (she/her) is Developer Relations & Business Development at Wings, supporting their portfolio studios and looking for new games by female and gender minority leads. Parttime law student. She was previously the CEO and Founder of Triple Topping Games, Advisor to Kowloon Nights, and served on the board of Global Game Jam. Astrid is working dedicated to a more transparent and inclusive games industry.
Michael Liebe (he/him) is CEO & Founder of Booster Space, the company that initiated gamesweekberlin, Womenize! Games and Tech or VR NOW Con. He acts as Outreach Games Europe lead for Kickstarter. During his eight years with Kickstarter, he worked with more than 1.000 projects, with a funding goal success rate of about 90%.
At Booster Space he is responsible for all things consultancy and fundraising. In the times before founding Booster Space he co-initiated the indie games and art festival, A MAZE., the Digital Games Research Centre of the University of Potsdam (DIGAREC) as well as the Computer Games Collection of European Media Studies at the University of Potsdam, the European Masters program, Ludic Interfaces and the games:net berlinbrandenburg.
Until 2012 he was Advisor – New Media at the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and responsible for consulting on public funding and networking in the German capital region. He holds an M.A. in European Media Studies, is an advisor and jury member, and works regularly as a university lecturer. The most recent consultancy clients include TALES of Us (game production), Konzerthausorchester Berlin (Twitch concept), Mimunga (publishing project management).
Session: Make Game and Talk about It. (How a well presented profile leads to success on Kickstarter)
Jacky Martin (she/her) is a multidisciplinary game industry expert and founder of Gentleland®, who has raised over €325,000 in crowdfunding for indie developers in 2024 alone, along with additional funding through grants and publishing deals, combining technical know-how, artistic creation, and strategic guidance
Session: 4 KEYS TO FUNDING – ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO NAVIGATING PUBLISHERS FOR GAME DEVELOPERS
Mickaël Newton (he/him) is a prominent figure in the French video game industry who currently serves as Social Impact Manager at Ubisoft and President of Loisirs Numériques, an association he co-founded in 2010 that organizes charitable gaming events. He is also Vice President of Professional Integration at Afrogameuses, an organization that promotes diversity and inclusion in gaming, and has been a member of Women in Games France since 2017. Via its own endowment fund, M. Newton co-created the BJV Scholarship (Bourse Jeux Vidéo in french) in 2020, which provides financial support and mentoring to underrepresented students pursuing careers in video game development. His commitment to making the gaming industry more inclusive and accessible was recognized when he received the prestigious « Pegases » Award for « Personality of the Year » in 2024.
Session: Challenging Tokenism in Gaming: The BJV Scholarship and Afrogameuses Initiatives
Fernanda Pagani (she/her) is Co-founder and CEO of Games Ground Berlin, a gaming industry festival and conference where she is committed to curate impactful B2B programs featuring diverse speakers, perspectives, and initiatives. She recently joined SpielFabrique as a Project Manager, supporting cross-industry programs that aim to bridge the gap between video games and sectors like music, film, and book publishing, while also contributing to community engagement strategies. Fernanda is also the Co-founder and CEO of Beat Em Hub, an initiative fostering inclusive gaming culture through events across Berlin and Germany. With over four years of experience as a freelance video game localization expert (ENG–ITA), she has worked on a range of titles from indie to AAA games, such as Black Myth: Wukong and Frostpunk 2.
Session: Organizational Change For Good: How Business Transformations Can Succeed
Charlese Saballe (she/her, they/them) is a UX & Player Researcher at Metacore, a mobile game studio with offices in Helsinki and Berlin. In her role, she leads UX and player research to shape better gaming experiences. Originally from the Philippines, Charlese has an educational background in Statistics and Business IT (Digital Service Design), and deep expertise in data analytics and quantitative user research. Prior to joining Metacore and the games industry, Charlese worked at Zalando, where she honed her analytical skills in a fast-paced e-commerce environment.
Beyond her professional work, Charlese is passionate about advocating for diversity, equality, and inclusion. She’s been actively involved in groups championing women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and migrant and racial justice. When she’s not crunching numbers or analyzing user behavior, you’ll find her exploring new restaurants, cooking up something delicious, binge-watching movies and TV series, experimenting with crafts, or enjoying a good board or card game.
Session: Career Pivots and Cultural Shifts: A migrant’s journey into tech & games
Nainy Sahani (she/her) is Marketing Director at Tales of Us. She’s a multidisciplinary leader committed to content innovation and creative application for emerging tech. Based in Berlin, she has reshaped creative strategies and digital transformation for organisations such as BBC Worldwide, Discovery Networks, Star, H&M, WPP and more. As an influential speaker and advisor, she advocates for sustainable practices and gender parity in tech, crafting a future where creativity and impact seamlessly connect.
Elisabeth Secker (she/her) has been Managing Director of the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK) since January 2018. As part of her work, she is involved as a member of the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) board for age ratings for online games and apps. Previously, she was deputy head of youth media protection at “die medienanstalten,” the umbrella organization of Berlin’s 14 state media authorities.
Elisabeth Secker is also active as a member of the advisory board of the Digital Games Culture Foundation and on the Safer Advisory Board of an international games platform.
Session: Balancing Act: Navigating Parenthood in the Gaming Industry
Kristina Straßburger is a criminologist with the mission to prevent sexual harrassment in the workplace. As an expert with a scientific background and practical experience in a counseling center for victims of sexualized violence, she offers tailor-made, helpful training and lectures, both online and offline. Starting from the summer of 2021, she has been actively engaged in valuable educational and prevention work (in German) on instagram, under the handle kriminologin.kristina.
Session: 5 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About Workplace Sexual Harassment
Sena Tabak (she/her) is Software Developer at InnoGames. Since 2010, she has been immersed in the games industry as a frontend developer, crafting experiences across mobile, web, and desktop platforms. This journey has equipped her with proficiency in various coding languages and game engines, with her current expertise centered on Haxe, a versatile cross-platform language.
In 2016, her life expanded beyond code when she became a mother. Now balancing a demanding tech career with raising two children, she is continuously learning the nuanced language of parenthood alongside programming languages.
Her passion for technology extends to exploring AI as a development assistant, constantly seeking ways to enhance her workflow. This interest in nurturing tech skills led her to create a venture teaching young children logic and programming fundamentals.
When she can carve out personal time, she loses herself in creating puzzles and devouring fantasy and science fiction novels — mental escapes that fuel her creativity both as a developer and as a parent.
Session: Balancing Act: Navigating Parenthood in the Gaming Industry
Kathy Tafel (she/her) is Technical Director at Tales of Us. She brings experience in different disciplines — management, engineering, marketing, editorial — and different industries — music, social, games, operating systems — from the Bay Area to Brooklyn to Berlin. A bit of an eclectic polymath, with an emphasis in the intersection of liberal arts with technology, this quest for what makes us human. What is culture? What is progress? What do we get from the previous generation and give to the next? What do we leave behind as not useful?
Miles Tost is Level Design Lead at CD PROJEKT RED bringing more than a decade of craft and curiosity to a 14-person-strong Level Design team building The Witcher 4. Since joining CDPR in 2013 he has shaped hallmark open worlds – from the natural landscapes and fantasy dungeons in The Witcher 3 to Night City’s back alleys in Cyberpunk 2077 and its 2023 expansion Phantom Liberty. Miles loves sharing hands-on lessons for making better levels and open worlds in games.
Session: Balancing Act: Navigating Parenthood in the Gaming Industry
Luise Emilie Tschersich (she/her) better known as Mile, started her career as a caster in 2022 and since then she has become a fixture in the Prime League 1st division – League of Legends fans know her for sure! From the Prime League Cup 2024 and 2025, to the Equal Esports Cup 2024 and 2025, the NNO Cup and UKEL and EMEA Masters (English) – she’s been everywhere and there’s more to come!
But her talents also lie in other areas. Luise Emilie is also an actress & content creator. She is currently starring as Anastasia Sadowski in the successful ZDF series ‘Blutige Anfänger’. In addition to a scholarship, she has already been nominated twice for the Grimme Prize and received the award for best young actress at the Immenhof Film Awards in 2024.
Session: Being a Woman in Esports – Between Performance, Personality and Psychological Pressure
Dani Valkova (she/her) is Founder of GOGIA, and she is building the future of audio-driven gaming, creating AI-powered experiences to help people enter flow states, regulate emotions, and optimize focus. Her work is built on 60+ global projects across AR, VR, and AI, including work with Google, Meta and Netflix; pushing the boundaries of gaming and immersive technology.
Session: The Secret Power of Game Music: What Every Creator Should Know
Lauren Wade (she/her) is the Head of Player Communications at Kolibri Games, with her teams covering support & community plus localization & communication. With just over a decade in the gaming industry, Lauren has also participated in numerous conferences and events. Speaking engagements and moderator duties have included high-level company Q&As, D&I and playtesting events, and the Game Quality Forum.
Session: Your First Quest: Entering the Gaming Industry with Confidence
Jenni Wergin (she/her) is Creative Producer. As a Creative Producer, Jenni advocates player experience and game vision to help teams create better products with their key audience in mind. Previously, she worked for Headup and as a Product Manager for Thunderful Publishing, where she was involved in releasing award-winning titles like Viewfinder, LEGO® Bricktales and Planet of Lana.
Session: Support your Artistic Voice
Bibbi Wikman (she/her) is Founder of PlayCap, an international investment network of around 200 experienced women from the games industry. PlayCap members invest through equity and project funding while also offering strategic expertise to support early-stage game studios and game tech companies. She is also Head of Publishing at Aurora Punks, a boutique co-dev and publishing studio based in Stockholm.
Session: Pitch Perfect: Securing investment for your game
Speakers of 2024
Katja Bäuerle is the CEO of Erich Pommer Institut, a provider of professional training for the German and European media industry, based in Potsdam-Babelsberg. In her more than 20 years in the industry, she also worked as Creative Responsibility Manager at German production powerhouse UFA, ran their employee education and learning scheme and produced several long-running daily dramas and prime-time series in Berlin, Cologne and Melbourne. Female Leadership, diversity in the film industry and green production have long been the focus of her work.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Julianne Becker is Co-Founder Managing and Director of Coconat and initiator of The Rabbit, born in the US lived in Vietnam, lived in Berlin and finally to rural Brandenburg 7 years ago. She is a trained artist, filmmaker, communications expert, creative entrepreneur, & more. She lives the Coconat purpose: Inviting. Inspiring. Inventing sustainable stuff.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Valentina Birke directs the Indie Arena Booth at Super Crowd Entertainment, spearheading the acclaimed showcase for independent video games. Alongside her leadership at Indie Arena Booth, she actively participates in the gaming industry by serving on the selection committee for the WINGS fund, offering support to gender-marginalized game developers, and contributing to the Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Fund. Furthermore, Valentina holds a position as a member of the board of directors of IGDA (International Game Developers Association). In addition to her industry commitments, she is deeply involved with GAME:IN, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating sexism in the games industry.
Mafalda Duarte is the Studio director and producer at Telescope Game Studios, a multicultural Potsdam-based team, bringing the game Last Whale Singer: Rise of the Leviathan to life.In her previous director/producer role at Nerd Monkeys, she helped launch titles like Out of Line and Short Games Collection into the world.She is not only an ambassador for Women in Games but also works for the organisation as the Ambassador Coordinator, speaks in events around the world and mentors She’s a founder of the Game Dev Lisbon collective and has been organising events such as Game Dev Camp since 2020, among other community projects.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Simge Erdogan is BD & Partnerships Manager for VAL Esports EMEA at Riot Games. Prior to joining Riot Games in 2022, Simge spent over six years in marketing and esports roles in the esports ecosystem. She began her career at ESL Turkey, where after a 3-year tenure, she gained extensive experience in community management, league ops, live broadcast, and project management. Followed by her role as Esports Manager at Red Bull, establishing gaming and esports efforts in Turkey for the brand, creating the global CS:GO event Red Bull Flick which is loved and played by many around the globe. Her next steps at Publishme Agency and SPORTFIVE led her to work with major brands such as Vodafone, Coca-Cola, ASUS, Gillette, HyperX, Intel and publishers Supercell and Activision Blizzard on many marketing and community projects both local and regional.
Melanie Fussenegger studied media technology and media art with a focus on computer graphics and digital games. She has found her calling in project management and project leadership and has been working in this role at the Digital Games Culture Foundation since 2022. There she set up the “Start-up: Games Entrepreneurs” program funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, which supports founders of indie studios in Berlin and Brandenburg with workshops, mentoring and networking. Her passion for digital games as a form of art and expression motivates her to actively shape the future of this medium.
Viktoria Glaeser is a Senior Program Manager at Riot Games with nearly a decade of expertise working in the gaming industry.
Fueled by a passion for excellence in her work, Vik brings together diverse teams to create memorable experiences for players, always with a touch of fun. Notably, she played a pivotal role in the successful launch of VALORANT Esports in EMEA and managed the reconstruction of Riot’s Esports Studio in Berlin, Germany. Currently she’s working on League of Legends Esports in EMEA to create a collaborative and strategically aligned team to deliver the best possible products in the most effective way.
Sarah Gloeckler is Country Lead for DACH at Riot Games. She is leading a team that publishes VALORANT, League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Wild Rift and Legends of Runeterra for the German speaking markets. With over 10 years of experience in the gaming industry she developed a great sense for player needs and expectations, helping her to find the right channel and strategies to launch and run some of the most successfuly games worldwide.
Ina Goering is Director of Membership & Funding at game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche e.V. and the contact person for all questions relating to games funding and supports the regional representatives of game in their work.During and after her studies at the Film University Babelsberg, Ina worked as a producer, production manager and director in the film, television and animated film industry. She then worked for several years in the media team of the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB). Most recently, Ina worked as a consultant in the New Media Funding division of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. She was responsible for the funding programs “Innovative Audiovisual Content” (funding for games, VR and AR projects) and “Location Measures” (events).
Maxi Graeff is the Marketing Lead for @XboxDACH with +15 years experience in the gaming industry. With her background she brings expertise in Public Relations, Marketing, Brand, Social, Events & Partnerships with strong Storytelling as her core skill.
Maxi also initiated the Xbox Mentoring Program that has been active for multiple years to inspire Women to join the industry.
Gabrielė Jurkonytė is a marketing manager at InnoGames with over 5 years of experience in Conversion Rate Optimization. Alongside her professional role, she is a certified Mindfulness teacher and holds a master’s degree in Psychology. Juggling the challenges of modern life Gabrielė is bringing mindfulness into daily business prioritizing not only productivity but also holistic well-being, with a particular focus on the body. She believes that the true measure of success lies in ending a busy workday with sufficient nervous system capacity remaining for pleasure, creativity, and play.
Session: MINDFULNESS BREAK
Fernanda Lange Boettcher works at the Department Media, ICT of the Brandenburg Economic Development Agency since 2008. In previous years, she has been Head of the Training Department of the Center for Audiovisual Development of the Catalan Institute for Cultural Industries (ICEC) in Barcelona and before that, she coordinated EU funded programs such as European Films Crossing Borders or Sources 2. Prior to that, she worked for more than 10 years at the coordination of the Berlin Film Festival.
Session: GAMING IN BRANDENBURG: EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BERLIN’S BORDERS
Frederico Machado de Campos is working as Talent Acquisition Manager at YAGER for the past two years. Renowned for his ability to uncover hidden talent and connect with candidates on a profound level, his mission at YAGER is on identifying and recruiting the best talent to drive their projects forward. Fre has been an important instrument to help YAGER not only continue to build work class teams but also make sure “belonging” is key for the company’s success. Fre is passionate about building new relationships and is continuously developing his coaching and strategy skills to become the ultimate recruitment partner. Can’t let out that his is an avid gamer and integrates gaming into his lifestyle, demonstrating his dedication to the industry he loves. He doesn’t merely find time for gaming; he makes time for it, underscoring his belief that games are an essential part of his identity.
Session: SUCCESS FACTOR CONFIDENCE – From Self-Awareness to a Growth Mindset
Richarrie Mosca Klumpp has been with YAGER for over 12 years. As Senior People & Culture Manager in the company she focuses on Learning & Development, making sure that people know how to keep on growing and learning. While people across all industries at times often come and go, for various reasons, she tries to proactively work against that in her role at YAGER. She has supported several occasions where an intern or junior is rising up the ranks to fulfill a key role in leading positions later down the line. Richarrie is very passionate about learning, an essential part in their company’s values. She finds a lot of passion and motivation in her work, where she is surrounded by so many talented developers. In total she has been working in the HR world for more than 15 years. Before joining the games industry she worked in the Airline and Tourism industry. Richarrie is a certified Coach (Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching) and volunteers also as grief counselor.
Session: SUCCESS FACTOR CONFIDENCE – From Self-Awareness to a Growth Mindset
JustBecci is a young woman from Austria with a wide range of interests who entertains her community with her Viennese charm when it comes to gaming and lifestyle.She started her Twitch channel in 2012 and has been “just a girl playing games” ever since.In addition to her streaming career, she is also a moderator, speaker and lecturer. With a degree in media and event management and training as a speaker, she has established herself in the industry. Her projects include stage shows and web videos, in collaboration with well-known partners such as A1 eSports and Red Bull.Most recently, she was nominated for Player of the Year at the German Computer Game Awards.
Session: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY: DISCOVERING MY VOICE IN THE GAMING WORLD
Sofia Saa is Head of the Office for cinema, audiovisual, video games and digital creation at Institut français Deutschland. She is committed to supporting and promoting the visibility of women, particularly in the video game and XR industries. The WOMEN MAKING GAMES program, created in 2023 and set for a second edition in 2024, is one such example.
Almut Schwacke has been roaming the world of interactive sound since 2006. With a Tonmeisterdiploma from the renowned Berlin University of the Arts under her belt, a big collection of Foleyprops and an infinite fascination for auditory subtleties she loves developing sonic identities forvideo games, wearing all the hats from Sound Designer to Foley Artist to Voice Actor toComposer in the process. Her works include Anno 1800, Through the Darkest of Times, YouSuck At Parking, NUTS and Pizza Possum.Audio is truly the greatest playground for her – diverse, interesting and a new challenge each time.
Session: WHY YOUR GAME SOUNDS MEDIOCRE
Kristina Strassburger is a criminologist with a mission: to prevent sexualized violence in two crucial areas: among children and in the workplace. As an expert with a scientific background and practical experience in a counseling center for victims of sexualized violence and the economy, she offers tailor-made, helpful training and lectures, both online and offline.Starting from the summer of 2021, she has been actively engaged in valuable educational and prevention work (in German) on instagram, under the handle kriminologin.kristina.
Sophie Vo is a Game Executive with over 15 years of experience working at Gameloft, Wooga, Rovio, Voodoo, and PlayStation —building studio and people’s departments, guiding teams through change, launching games, and running Live Ops on $300M+ lifetime IPs. Currently CEO and co-founder of a new AAA game studio in Vietnam, Kylan. In 2021, she founded Rise and Play: a network and knowledge-sharing platform for the conscious leaders of the gaming industry who advocate for a human-centric approach to game development and teams.
Jenni Wergin is the Creative Producer at Headup, advocating for player experience and game vision to help teams create better products. Previously, she worked as a Product Manager for Thunderful Publishing and was involved in releasing award-winning titles like Viewfinder, LEGO® Bricktales, and Planet of Lana. Before her role in publishing, Jenni worked as a funding manager at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and was the project manager for Womenize! Games and Tech. She has also participated in various game-related juries, including the Indie Arena Booth and the German Computer Game Awards.
Session: WORKSHOP: PARTNERING UP WITH A PUBLISHER – The Dragon in Front of the Gate Problem
Serenad Yilmaz is Founder and the Creative Director of Food for Thought (@fft.collective), was once chased by a rhino and has a weak spot for platform shoes.She caught the game bug in the early 2000s, started designing games in Flash, one of them was published online and got played by 11.000.000 people. She worked in the creative industries as a graphic and UI designer for over ten years, half of it being in the game industry. Although she got kicked out of an exchange studentship for wearing short shorts, she still got lots of higher education, such as an MA in Gender Studies and another in Science and Technology Studies.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZER
We come from Kreuzberg, Berlin, and develop brands, curate programs and execute them on-site. It’s like thinking with a thousand heads and speaking with a thousand mouths. Online networks, start-ups, developers, politics, media and cultural leaders come and listen. We are experts for Kickstarter. We do love this shit.
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