Game Hugs

Edward Fong is the Managing Director of Ubisoft ANZ, and chairman of the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA).

Starting his almost 20 year career in the entertainment business as the Marketing Manager for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Edward went on to be the Marketing Director for GT Interactive, Atari / Infogrames, and eventually Ubisoft Australia.

Raelene Knowles is the Communications and Member Services Manager at IGEA (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association).

After working in a marketing role at Hasbro Toys in 2000, she moved across to the Hasbro Interactive division to work specifically on their video game products. 

The company was acquired by Infogrames, which went on to become Atari, then Namco Bandai, where Raelene was the Marketing Manager.

Nic Healey is the weekday breakfast radio host at 2ser 107.3, and until recently was a Senior Editor at CNET.

Over a 20 year career he has been the Editor for PC & Tech Authority, Official Xbox Magazine, T3, Official Windows Magazine, Official Nintendo Magazine, and Official PlayStation Magazine.

Jason Evans is a Publicist for Ogilvy Australia, managing the account for Xbox Australia.

He was previously the PR & Promotions Manager for Namco Bandai, Product Manager for One2another (Bethesda), PR Assistant at 2K Games, and was also a Store Manager at GAME.

Derek Proud is the Director of Garoo Games, member of the board game entertainment group the Dicestormers, and is currently working with Start VR on new VR game experiences.

Over a 25 year career in the games industry he has worked as a producer and project manager for SEGA Ozisoft, Electronic Arts, THQ (and THQ Studio Australia), and KMM Interactive.

He's worked with a wide range of games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Harry Potter, Rugby, Destroy All Humans, Happy Feet 2, and through to the unreleased Whore of the Orient.

Giselle Rosman is the Business Administrator for Hipster Whale, the Director of the IGDA Melbourne Chapter, and the Executive Producer for the Global Game Jam.

She was the Event Co-ordinator for Game Connect Asia Pacific from 2013 to 2014, and worked in the education sector at La Trobe University and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment.

She has won MCV Pacific's Women of the Year award two years in a row (2014, 2015), is a strong advocate for the independent gaming scene in Melbourne, and is a regular speaker at events all around the world.

Joab Gilroy is the editor of Redbull esports, MCV Pacific weekly, and general editor-for-hire!

He was the editor for Telstra GameArena for 6 years - reviewing games, liaising with publishers, and managing a large network of games journalists.

As a freelance games critic he has written for AusGamers, Games On Net, IGN and Gameplanet, as well as magazines like Hyper and PC PowerPlay.

He also hosts the long running GAP Podcast, currently at over 300 episodes.

Izzy Gramp is a game developer for Geeiz Games, currently developing the soon to be released Intergalactic Space Princess.

Programming since the age of 14, Izzy has been involved in numerous industry incubator and support programs, having been an IGDA scholar and Microsoft game changer, which led to attending E3 and GDC.

Izzy has a history of serious game development, including 'Faceless' - an empathy game about asylum seekers, and 'All Your Fault' - a game about victim blaming.

Additionally Izzy is an accredited photographer, having taken professional photos of almost every Aussie game developer so far!

Ally is a Producer at Plastic Wax and Hammerfall Publishing, as well as the owner of her cosplay alter-ego brand, Eve Beauregard.

Previously the Marketing & Brand Manager for Living Dead Clothing, she has also worked in a professional promotional capacity for Blizzard, Microsoft, and Hi-Rez Studios, and also curates the indie game developers that exhibit at pop culture event Haven.

She worked as a consultant at CD Projekt Red, where she officially cosplayed as Yennefer of Vengerberg from the Witcher III.

David Milner is the editor for Game Informer Australia. First appearing as a Next Big Critic winner in Game Informer, this break lead to on-going freelance work and an eventual position as staff writer on the magazine, as well as winning Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism Awards. In 2014 David was appointed Editor of the Australian edition of Game Informer.