This panel will explore investment structures from international territories and how they have created a thriving game development ecosystem and what that could look like for Australian developers.
Bio:
Ron Curry, Moderator
Since joining IGEA in 2008, Ron has played an instrumental role in tackling the emerging issues surrounding interactive entertainment, and demonstrating the positive influence of computer and video games in the broader community particularly within the education and health sector.
Ron often appears in the media or fronting government to discuss the power of games to connect, empower, educate and inspire. Issues which he supports passionately include trade and export, funding, child safety, health, diversity and education. Ron has sate on many working groups, boards and roundtables including an Advisory Committee Member on the ALRC’s Classification Review and holds a seat on the government’s Consultative Working Group on Cyber Safety.
More recently, Ron took the lead in the merger between the GDAA and IGEA in 2020, which saw the two associations coming together, ensuring that there was a single unified voice representing the video games industry.
Prior to joining IGEA, Ron spent 15 years in the interactive entertainment business working for platform holders, publishers and distributors in areas as varied as sales, marketing, operations and general management. In this time Ron was also one of the founding Directors of IGEA, which was then IEAA.
Tim Scott
I joined the Ukie team as Head of Policy and Public Affairs in March 2017. Prior to this I spent twelve years in the UK Civil Service leading on Creative Industries and tech policy in the Cabinet Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport where I was instrumental in the development and implementation of the UK’s Video Games Tax Relief and the NextGen skills report.
Samuel Berthiaume
Samuel Berthiaume is Project Director for the Asia-Pacific region at Montréal International. His role is to promote the Montréal business environment to foreign companies, supporting their set-up or expansion in Greater Montréal. Since joining Montréal International in 2018, Samuel has supported multiple international expansions in Montréal in the technological, video game, VFX, mining and life science sectors.
Previously, Samuel was a Project Director at Investissement Québec, the financial arm of the provincial government of Québec, in the tax incentive group, with a focus on technological and video game companies. Samuel holds a Bachelor of Arts from Laval University and a Master in Public Administration from the National School of Public Administration.
Christian Fonnesbech
Christian Fonnesbech, Head of IP Development @ Leverage + Narrative Director @ Deck 13.
Christian Fonnesbech has been working with game investors and developers for a decade. His main focus is IP & franchise building in games.
At Leverage, he consults on building IPs and Brands for games, and at Deck 13 he is Narrative Director, building a new IP from the ground up. Previously, he was Head of IP Development at Nordisk Film Games, the game investment arm of Egmont. In his earlier career, he was a game entrepreneur, producing and directing 35+ game projects for advertising, learning and entertainment.