Women In Games Awards: Meet The Finalists – Outstanding Contribution

The Women in Games award for Outstanding Contribution will be given to the individual who has made positive contributions to the commercial success and public profile of the games industry.

The judges have now cast their votes and the winner will be celebrated at the Women in Games Awards event on the afternoon of Thursday May 19th.

We take a look at the women in the running for this award:

Noirin Carmody – Co-Founder, Revolution; Chair, UKIE

Noirin Carmody is the founder and COO at Revolution Software where her key responsibility is strategic business affairs. She negotiated the company’s buy-out from Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1998 and was instrumental in managing the shift from large in-house studio to core teams that include freelance specialists, and external work-for-hire companies, in anticipation of the emerging digital market.

Carmody joined London-based US games publisher Activision in the ’80s, where she launched the highly successful Sierra Online brand in Europe and later, as general manager, was instrumental in the handover following the sale of the company.

Alongside her ‘day job’ at Revolution, Carmody took over as Chair of UKIE last year and also sits on a number of advisory boards including York University, Creative England, and Yorkshire Television Society.

Jude Ower MBE– Founder Playmob

According to her peers, Ower is an unstoppable force, an inspiration and an asset to the industry”.Her recent MBE is testament to how hard she works and believes in the causes she supports. Creating the world’s first platform profitably connecting game mechanics to social good, she was voted as ‘One to Watch’ in 2015 at the Talent Unleashed Awards judged by Sir Richard Branson and leaders in tech, named in the Top 100 women in Tech in Europe, and has picked up many other accolades. In addition, she is a BAFTA games judge, member of UKIE and speaker at various events such as Institute of Directors, MADE Festival, SXSW, Women in Games, Browser Games Forum, Games for Brands, London Games Conference, Social Games Summit and Tech@State.

Rhianna Pratchett – Scriptwriter

Game writer, narrative designer and journalist, Rhianna Pratchett began her career as a journalist for PC Zone before writing scripts for the likes of Mirror’s Edge, Thief, Heavenly Sword, Prince of Persia, Codemasters’ Overlord series and the Tomb Raider reboots. She recently won the Writer’s Guild Of America award for her script on Rise Of The Tomb Raider. That game also took away character awards from both DICE and SXSW. She is described by a peer as a really strong and very capable woman who throughout the years has been a huge inspiration to many," and was one of the few women to speak at DICE 2016.

Giselle Stewart OBE – Director of UK Corporate Affairs, Ubisoft

This year Giselle Stewart received her Queens Honour (OBE) for services to the games industry – a well deserved accolade for the decades of work she has dedicated to the sector and, in particular, around skills and equality. Stewart has overseen the Newcastle Reflections studio through two successful acquisitions, the most recent being that of the French games giant Ubisoft. Stewart is also the chair of the Creative Skills Council for the Games Industry and on the advisory board of Next Gen Skills Academy. She has influenced change in the visa and immigration policies for attracting and retaining the best talent in the UK, working with the Migration Advisory Committee and other. Stewart is also a Director of trade body TIGA and works closely with UKIE. She has been a strong voice in influencing Video Games Tax Relief working with the HMRC, DCMS and the BFI.

Dr Jo Twist – CEO, UKIE

UKIE has, without doubt, grown significantly under Dr Jo Twist’s leadership over the past few years to be a formidable voice for the games industry in Government and has helped bring together a strong group for guidance and ideas. Before joining UKIE in 2012, Twist was Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for Education, where she commissioned Digital Emmy-winning Battlefront II, free to play browser and iOS games, (Sweatshop, Nomnation and International Racing Squirrels)and social media projects. She is also a London Tech Ambassador, a VP of Special Effect, and sits on various boards and advisory groups, including the BAFTA Games Committee.

The Women in Games Awards take place on Thursday May 19th at the Hamyard Hotel, London. Tickets cost just 49 and are available by simply clicking here. The awards, held in conjunction with the Women in Games (WIGJ) body and sponsored by Facebook, will shine the spotlight on the most influential and inspirational women in the UK games industry.

A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available for the Women in Games Awards 2016. Contact Lesley McDiarmid or Conor Tallon to find out more.