Bonnie Ross, the woman who leads the popular Halo video game franchise says her sports background not only got her into gaming, but helped level the playing field in a traditionally male-dominated field that she wants more women to enter.
She also credits her success to the foundation of technical and communication skills gained from her internship and education while attending Colorado State University.
Bonnie Ross is corporate vice president at Xbox and head of 343 Industries, the studio that oversees the Halo video game franchise. Fortune magazine called her one of the 10 most powerful women in video games in 2014.
“After my talks, I have a ton of women and girls come up to me and say, ‘I didn’t know you could do this,’” Ross says, referring to speeches she has given at events focused on women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The California native played sports growing up, and her first video game was a rudimentary basketball handheld made by Mattel in the 1970s.
“Ultimately, I ended up in gaming because of sports,” Ross says.
Her sports background paid off in other ways early in her career. Her ability to hang with — if not beat outright — her male co-workers in noon basketball sessions and company softball games helped her gain respect among her peers. It also provided valuable lessons for her profession.
“Having the ability to fail, learn from your failures and surround yourself with people who have other strengths is key,” Ross says. “And leadership does shift, whether it’s on the court or the field. You may start out as the point guard, but your role changes. Leadership is dynamic, and the leader is not always the one out in front. You need to know when to be in front and when to take a step back.”
I knew all of you would enjoy learning about this - The second part of this story will appear this Saturday. Stay tuned!
-- Love Rae
No comments:
Post a Comment