Video games for Change stated Leo Olebe would be the new chair of the board of administrators for the nonprofit devoted to social impression video games and media.
Olebe will nonetheless be vice chairman of world partnerships at Xbox, for his day job. He succeeds Asi Burak, chief enterprise officer at Tilting Level, who has served as chair for the previous ten years and can proceed to function a board member.
Video games for Change holds an occasion in New York the place it attracts inspirational audio system giving emotional talks about video games which have the potential to alter the world or your perspective of it. For example, in 2023, Video games for Change highlighted Cameron Kostopoulos, the developer of Physique of Mine, which was a robust expertise that focuses on “body dysphoria,” or the sensation folks can get once they really feel misalignment between the physique they had been born with and their gender identification.
Leo Olebe is the brand new board chair of Video games for Change.
And in addition in 2023, within the group’s twentieth yr, Video games for Change led attendees on a tour of New York’s UN constructing, by means of locations just like the UN Safety Council and UN Basic Meeting assembly rooms, whereas showcasing the work of Benjamin “DrLupo” Lupo, a creator who at that time had raised $14 million so far for St. Jude’s Youngsters’s Analysis Hospital.
The occasion additionally gave its Vanguard Award in 2020 to Homosexual Gaming Professionals’ Gordon Bellamy, a USC video games professor. And it gave Lego an business management award for displaying find out how to deal with youngsters in on-line environments. Now will probably be the job of Olebe, working with president Susanna Pollack, to proceed to give you inspirational tales about gaming and social impression.
Olebe brings a wealth of expertise and management to his function as chair of Video games for Change. With over twenty years within the gaming and leisure business, he has held outstanding positions at world organizations, together with serving as World Head of Gaming at YouTube, Managing Director, Video games at Google and Senior World Director, Video games Partnerships at Fb. Leo has shipped over 100 video games from studios like BioWare, WB Video games, Zynga and Disney Interactive.
Olebe had a tearful dialog at one in all our GamesBeat occasions with Lual Mayen, a South Sudan refugee who taught himself to make video games whereas dwelling in a refugee camp. Mayen obtained recognition for his personal inspirational story at Geoff Keighley’s The Recreation Awards.
All through his profession, Olebe has earned widespread recognition for his imaginative and prescient and his skill to domesticate significant partnerships that drive each creativity and impression. He’s a passionate advocate for training and inclusion, constantly championing efforts to drive STEM and create a extra consultant gaming business. His dedication to fostering innovation and constructing bridges throughout industries aligns completely with the mission of Video games for Change, positioning him as a dynamic chief poised to information the group into its subsequent period of development and impression.
He has some large sneakers to fill on the nonprofit. Burak has left an everlasting legacy at Video games for Change by means of his practically decade-long tenure as board chair and his earlier 5 years as president. Throughout his time as president, Burak led groundbreaking initiatives, together with the award-winning Half the Sky Motion Video games, impressed by the NYT bestselling e book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.
Leo Olebe (left) of YouTube Gaming with Dr Lupo on the UN.
A Fb sport and three cell video games, alongside a PBS documentary and different multimedia property, reached hundreds of thousands of gamers worldwide, elevating each consciousness and funding to advance girls’s rights and gender equality.
As board chair, Burak steered the group by means of a interval of extraordinary development. Beneath his management, Video games for Change cemented its standing because the main platform within the games-for-impact house and greater than doubled its annual funds. The annual Video games for Change Competition developed into one of many business’s most influential occasions, with satellite tv for pc convenings held all over the world and now on the United Nations as effectively. Moreover, the group’s academic packages round sport creation flourished, impacting over 50,000 college students, greater than 1,500 educators, and 1000’s of builders globally.
“”As we embark on this new chapter for Video games for Change, I wish to specific my deepest gratitude to Asi Burak for his visionary management over the previous decade, which has been pivotal in shaping G4C into the group it’s at this time,” stated Pollack, president of G4C, in a press release. “We are excited to welcome Leo as our new Board Chair. His extensive knowledge of the gaming industry, exceptional ability to foster collaborative partnerships, and unwavering support for G4C make him the perfect leader to build on Asi’s legacy and guide us into our next phase of growth and impact.”
“Games for Change is remarkable in its ability to drive positive change globally through collaborations with leading universities, the United Nations, NGOs, game developers, and individuals worldwide,” stated Olebe. “Susanna, Asi, and the entire team are extraordinary, and it is a great honor to join them on such a significant mission.”
Asi Burak of Tilting Level was chair of Video games for Change for 10 years.
Burak added, “As we reflect on this moment of transition, I couldn’t be prouder of what Susanna Pollack and our team have achieved during this period. Games for Change has had a real impact on the gaming industry and its direction, and, more importantly, on the kids and adults who are playing digital games all over the world. We’ve partnered with Leo as a board member for a few years now, and there is no one more suited to lead the organization into its next phase of growth, at a time when the role of games in our society is more relevant than ever.”
Olebe assumed the function of board chair on February 6, 2025, and is working alongside G4C’s management workforce and board to broaden the group’s world initiatives. Just lately introduced new Board Members embrace Mark Stanley, Founder and Principal at Strategic Gaming Collective,, Samir El Agili, CEO at Brandible Video games ,and Ben Golant, Senior Director of World Video Recreation Coverage at TenCent Americas.
Since 2004, Video games for Change (G4C) has empowered sport creators and innovators to drive real-world change, utilizing video games and immersive media that assist folks study, enhance their communities, and contribute to creating the world a greater place. G4C companions with expertise and gaming firms, nonprofits, foundations, and authorities businesses to run world-class occasions, public arcades, design challenges, and youth packages. G4C helps a world group of sport builders utilizing video games to deal with real-world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to local weather change and training.
Olebe’s perspective
Aaron Greenberg and Leo Olebe of Microsoft.
GamesBeat: How lengthy have you ever been concerned with G4C?
Leo Olebe: G4C is an unimaginable group that drives real-world impression by means of video games and immersive media. I’ve been attending G4C occasions for practically a decade. My first keynote handle was in 2019, titled “Building a Better Gaming Community,” the place I spoke about how video games unite us by means of our shared ardour.
In the summertime of 2020, in the course of the peak of COVID, I gave a chat referred to as “Games Can Heal the World,” highlighting the gaming business’s efforts to boost cash and consciousness for COVID aid. In 2022, I spokeabout the function everybody performs in creating alternatives in a chat referred to as “Games Matter, Change Matters, You Matter.” Lastly, in 2023, I revealed that these talks had been a part of a compendium concerning the energy of group and the way we are able to make a distinction in one another’s lives daily. I joined the board in 2020, impressed by Susanna’s management and imaginative and prescient.
GamesBeat: What made you wish to make this transfer?
Olebe: My ardour for gaming fuels me daily. Video games have profoundly impacted my life by means of superb experiences, lifelong friendships, and unimaginable alternatives. Gaming is basically about Neighborhood, and the muse of Neighborhood helps others, regardless of how large or small the hassle. Asi has set an unimaginable instance of management over the previous decade as Chair for G4C. As a board member, I’ve watched and discovered as Video games For Change expanded its world attain. I needed to make this transfer now as a result of I proceed to be impressed by the mission and wish to assist information us into the subsequent chapter of alternative.
GamesBeat: How do you assume we’re doing in utilizing video games to realize impression on social change?
Olebe: The video games business has had an amazing impression on social change in some ways. It creates financial alternatives, connects folks worldwide, and teaches and evokes new abilities. Gaming opens doorways and builds bridges the place none existed earlier than. Whereas I feel the video games business has executed effectively, there’s at all times extra we are able to do. Considered one of my private sayings is, “Bring People In, Don’t Push People Out.” With so many community-driven experiences, new platforms, and applied sciences, the business has extra attain and affect than ever earlier than. Let’s use it to welcome everybody and create an area the place folks might be their greatest selves and discover their tribe.
GamesBeat: What makes you most enthusiastic about this house and the function?
Susanna Pollack is president of Video games for Change.
Olebe: On daily basis, we see new expertise and innovation pushing the boundaries of creativity and expression. We’re consistently studying new abilities and difficult the established order. What excites me most about this house is that there are over three billion players worldwide who share the pure pleasure of enjoying video games. These players have the facility to drive constructive change of their communities. If something, we’re simply getting began. On this function, I’m excited to help Susanna’s management as we join with much more folks, universities, and organizations globally.
GamesBeat: Does it relate to a few of your individual duties at Microsoft too?
Olebe: Completely. My function at Xbox is to assist sport builders worldwide discover success. It’s about bringing desires to actuality. The function at Video games For Change could be very related – it’s about serving to folks, organizations, studios, and universities convey their desires to life, join with one another, and create constructive change. At coronary heart, I’m a gamer and connector, and I see these roles as very complementary.
GamesBeat: What’s the day-to-day of what you might be doing at Microsoft?
Olebe: On daily basis is about supporting gaming creators and constructing transformative partnerships. Some days, we scout for brand new video games, and different days, we deal with technical challenges. With Xbox, gamers can join with their favourite video games and video games communities throughout a number of screens. I like that I can seamlessly play a sport on my console, swap to my pill, play it on PC, after which drop in on my handheld. Proper now, I’m enjoying Diablo 4 throughout 4 units day by day. This season, I’m a Bone Spear Necromancer that’s totally Grasp-worked, however I’m solely Paragon 128, so I’ve some work to do.
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