Deepthi Menon, Senior Director, Product Management at Google
Deepthi Menon leads the Google Play Store product team which drives immersive experiences for users to explore, search and discover apps and games in the Google Play store. She joined Google early this year. Prior to Google, she spent over 11 years working on free to play gaming experiences across multiple genres and most recently led the Words with Friends franchise at Zynga.
Katie Stone Perez, Principal Program Manager, XBOX
Katie Stone Perez is a Principal Program Manager driving Learning & Activation on the Gaming For Everyone team. After 19 years at Xbox Katie is thrilled that she gets to spend her days helping to make Xbox a place where everyone can have fun! She is a 19 year Xbox veteran who is known for establishing new products (Xbox Live Arcade, Kinect, Hololens, Meld) and for helping lead developer first programs and education (ID@Xbox, Channel 9, Xbox Live Arcade). Katie is an advocate for increasing diversity within our industry and within our content portfolios. She is also an avid supporter of Independent Games & Women in Technology. In her free time she volunteers both locally and abroad and serves as a Girl Scout Troop Leader. Follow Katie’s adventures at @KatieStonePerez on twitter.
Kelley Gilmore, Global Studio Head, Cloud Chamber
A 24-year industry veteran with more than 40 games shipped to date, Kelley Gilmore currently serves as Global Studio Head for Cloud Chamber, a wholly owned game development studio under the 2K publishing label. Her wealth of experience transcends executive production, marketing direction and public relations management, including nearly two decades of service to another of 2K’s wholly owned studios, Firaxis Games, on critically acclaimed and commercially successful franchises such as Sid Meier’s Civilization® and XCOM®.
A collective of storytellers eager to push the frontlines of interactive entertainment by making unique, entertaining and thoughtful experiences that engage the world, Cloud Chamber is building its uniquely diverse team across two locations: 2K’s San Francisco Bay Area headquarters in Novato, Calif.; and Montreal, Quebec, which represents the first-ever Canadian office for a 2K studio. Further, Cloud Chamber has started work on the newest game in the globally renowned BioShock franchise, which will be in development for the next several years.
Gilmore is based in Novato, California.
Michelle Del Rosario, Engineering Manager, Zynga
Reporting to Zynga’s CTO, Michelle Del Rosario serves as the Engineering Manager of the company’s Applied AI division.
Michelle obtained her CS degree at Stanford University. Since joining the gaming industry nearly a decade ago, Michelle has created over a dozen mobile hits at several video game startups and contributed as Lead Engineer to Zynga’s Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells and most recently as Technical Director on Zynga’s Spell Forest.
In 2017, Michelle developed Zynga’s STEAM Outreach initiative, which to date has connected thousands of students from across the nation to women professionals and allies globally.
Outside of work, Michelle speaks at women in leadership tech events, reminisces about a time pre-COVID when she used to practice parkour, and enjoys quality time with her family. Her favorite game series are Super Smash Bros., Star Ocean, and Splatoon."
Reiko Ninomiya, Senior Director at Nintendo of America
Reiko is the Senior Director of the Localization Department at Nintendo of America and works with a team of language and culture specialists who represent the diverse territories across the Americas. In addition to working with partners around the NOA organization, she enjoys collaborating with development and localization teams internationally, in creating experiences that are familiar and welcoming to Nintendo fans the world over. They say time flies when you’re having fun – the past 19 years have indeed gone by in a flash!
Shawne Benson, Director, Global Head of Third Party Portfolio & Acquisitions at Sony Interactive Entertainment
A curator at heart, Shawne’s career is dedicated to identifying and securing the best games from our global third party publishers and developers of all sizes. Her favorite games come from studios with richly diverse backgrounds which helps guide her in celebrating, empowering, and amplifying diverse creators and voices within the gaming industry. Prior to SIE, she spent ten years at Apple in roles spanning from software educator to games curator for the App Store. She began her career as a freelance score composer for theatre, film, and the occasional indie game. When not gaming or traveling the world, Shawne is composing music, studying Japanese, hiking, or spending time with her pet rabbit Goma in San Francisco.