Vince Zampella is the Head of Respawn Entertainment, a studio he co-founded in 2010 and that was acquired by EA in 2017. Zampella, as a key member of the EA Worldwide Studio organization’s senior leadership, also oversees the team at DICE LA. Respawn has created numerous critically acclaimed, best-selling games such as Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Apex Legends and STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order. Prior to founding Respawn, Zampella co-created Infinity Ward – a studio specializing in military action shooters. Infinity Ward’s creation, Call of Duty, was first published in 2003 by Activision and quickly became one of the industry’s most prolific video game franchises.

A thirty-year veteran of the game industry, Amy Hennig has served as Creative Director and Lead Writer on numerous titles, including Naughty Dog’s acclaimed Uncharted series and Crystal Dynamics’ groundbreaking Soul Reaver / Legacy of Kain franchise. She recently announced a partnership with Skydance Media to explore new frontiers in interactive storytelling.

Karthik Bala along with his brother Guha are founders of Velan Studios, an indie studio on a mission to create breakthrough experiences that are magic. They also run Velan Ventures, a game focused innovation investment company. Previously, Karthik was co-founder of Vicarious Visions, having built and led teams on multi-billion dollar franchises such as Guitar Hero and Skylanders. Karthik enjoys mentoring entrepreneurs and start-up ventures and looking at how game technologies can transform the world.

Guha Bala is President of Velan Ventures, Inc. an innovation investment company with a focus on video games and game related technology companies, and Velan Studios, Inc. a game studio that focuses on the discovery of new play patterns.

Previously, Guha co-founded Vicarious Visions with his brother, Karthik, in 1991. Vicarious has since grown to become an industry-leading game developer, helping to shape popular culture around the world. The company has grown into one of the most prolific creators of video games in North America, accounting for over $4 billion in sales and 45 million units of software spanning entertainment franchises such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and Crash Bandicoot. After leading Vicarious Visions for 25 years, the brothers transitioned out of the company in 2016 to become entrepreneurs again.

Guha enjoys mentoring start-up ventures and was honored as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2013. He is a Board Member of St. Peter’s Health Partners, the Albany Symphony, and Woodland Hill Montessori School. Guha holds an AB in Chemistry from Harvard College, and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

Every single day I have the opportunity to lead the talented team at Rare. Making games the world doesn’t have, as part of Xbox Game Studios.