The Gaming Playbook w/ Harry Phokou

Today's guest is Alexis Gresoviac, a veteran of the gaming industry.He has been in the gaming industry for 25 years and served as Managing director of Blizzard Korea, VP of Gameloft, and General Manager of Huuuge Games. He leverages his executive leadership experience to advise C-Suite teams on expansion strategies, evaluation of M&A deals, effective internal operations, and organizational structure. If you aspire to be a managing director, C-level executive, or founder of a gaming startup, this podcast is for you.Alexis is available for Strategic Advising & Coaching.You can connect with him on LinkedIn to find out more: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisgresoviac/Connect with Harry:LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/⁠⁠Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@hphokouInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/hphokou/⁠Chapters:0:00 Introducing Alexis: A Journey Through Gaming and Beyond1:57 Market Research to VP: Alexis's Early Career Journey6:30 Lessons from SEGA Legends18:06 Remote Work Realities and Industry Immaturity24:19 From Managing a Few to 150 at Gameloft38:35 Negotiating Lessons from Gameloft's Licensing Deals54:51 Transitioning from Gameloft to Blizzard59:28 Managing Blizzard's Spectacle1:07:23 How to network at parties1:11:50 Celebrating Community: Lessons from Epic Live Events1:19:05 From Managing Director to Strategic Advisor at Bethesda1:26:56 What Does a Good Advisor Do?1:34:11 Function vs Franchise Focus Structure at Blizzard1:41:28 Challenges of Overwatch 2 and Free-to-Play Dilemma1:44:49 Accelerating Production at Huuuge Games.1:51:00 Maximising Impact with ACE Consulting Group1:55:00 3 Ways Alexis Helps People2:00:20 The Value of Coaching with Harry & Alexis2:06:00 Rapid fire: Key Aspects for a killer team2:15:00 How Companies Are Failing Because of Bad Management

Lara Acosta has helped 100s of people get unstuck using LinkedIn and personal branding. She grew from 0 to 140k+ followers in just 2 years and is now the #1 UK Female Creator. If you want to post more on LinkedIn, this podcast is for you. Connect w/Lara Acosta (guest):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laraacostar/Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@LaraacostaTwitter/𝕏: ⁠https://x.com/LaraacostarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/laraacostar/ Connect w/ Harry Phokou (Host)LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/⁠Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@hphokouInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou/ Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:35 Understanding Your Purpose on LinkedIn02:19 Building Authority and Humanizing Yourself06:38 Overcoming the Fear of Posting on LinkedIn08:06 Starting with What You Have and Reducing Friction13:49 The Power of Storytelling on LinkedIn19:00 How CEOs can use LinkedIn25:39 The Role of Video on LinkedIn31:29 Collaboration Over Competition35:16 Engaging with Your Audience through LinkedIn Live and Webinars35:45 Understanding Leverage and Authenticity39:04 Building a Community vs. Building a Following48:02 Networking and Making Others Feel Important57:02 Presenting Yourself Professionally Online01:03:07 Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Content Creation01:08:20 Reframing Challenges and Maintaining a Positive Mindset

Thomas Lemesle is the Talent Acquisition manager at Gamehouse closing in on 20 years in the games industry. Having been a hiring manager for 25+ years starting at Nintendo in QA before moving on to product management/Production and then recruiting 10 years ago. This duo perspective of the recruiter and producer gives him a unique perspective of the industry which we dove into. We practically explored what recruiters and producers can learn from each other, improving the diversity of thought in your studio, AI's role in recruitment, networking and mentoring and much more. Please enjoy! Episode Links: Thomas Lemesle's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaslemesle/ Harry Phokou's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/ Amir Satvat's Resources: https://amirsatvat.com/