Kerrie Neale of Access All Areas On 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In Gaming

We had the pleasure of interviewing interview Kerrie Neale, Co-founder of Access All Areas and Senior Director of Analytics at NaturalMotion, a Zynga subsidiary.

As a Senior Director of Analytics with more than 20 years of experience in gaming and tech, Kerrie leads analytics across multiple titles and studios globally, including CSR Racing 2, Star Wars: Hunters, and previously Dawn of Titans.

Based in the UK, she plays a key role on both NaturalMotion Senior Leadership team and Zynga’s Central Analytics leadership.

Kerrie also brings her passion and advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion as Executive Sponsor of Zynga’s neurodiversity employee resource group.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you’. Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this particular career path?

I explored many industries, and each experience helped me arrive at my current career path in gaming. That’s the great thing about curiosity and learning.

In school, career counselors encouraged a traditional path into further academia. I was always interested in other cultures, so I pursued a business degree in travel and tourism. However, many paths converged over time and by paying attention to the signals along the way, I gained some great experiences and they all contributed to how I am able to have an impact in my role today.

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to live through some very exciting big tech waves. I often have had the good fortune to see the opportunities as they emerge or to be willing to explore the opportunities others have illuminated. I learned to lean into my curiosity and to be open to infinite thinking and possibilities in my career. Sometimes, what interests us may seem disparate, but what I have found is that there are often synergies that emerge and evolve into ideas or act as nudges setting us on new journeys. During this time, analytics grew across various industries, and it was in this field where I found my happy place where I could apply a blend of arts, science, and emotional intelligence skills to learn, grow, and deliver with impact as part of various teams I’ve worked with. Gaming for me is just my favorite industry — it offers great cultures where I can be the transformational leader I want to be; it fuels the sense of wonder and play I have always valued and it gives me the opportunity to work with an array of talented people across multiple disciplines to make great games together. It’s pretty amazing.

Can you share a story about the funniest a mistake you made when you first started? What lesson did you take out of that?

I learned early on that it is important to pursue a job with a company whose values align with yours. As amazing as recruitment pitches may sound, we each need to know ourselves and be discerning. It is so easy to be dazzled by job titles, but even before an interview, I try to inquire and understand the culture of a company. I learned early on to check if cultures align with my core values. I have found that this is what really matters — alongside a role that, of course, gives energy, plays to passions, and fosters growth for self and others when in leadership.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

Anyone who knows me well will know that I like to collect quotes in my commonplace book and there are so many, especially from author Brene Brown, which is why I really struggled to whittle this down to just one. However, I do like Brown’s applied research and her ability to share it through great storytelling, so I decided to choose one that remains in my top 10 consistently:

“Only when diverse perspectives are included, respected, and valued can we start to get a full picture of the world.”

This has been relevant in my life as it has allowed me to keep an open inquiring mind, to be mindful of diversity and to encourage inclusivity. Most of all, the quote has taken me on an amazing journey as I work with some fantastic global teams. I never stop learning from diverse perspectives and it’s one of life’s true pleasures — to endeavor to see and hear people.

As a leader, I am so proud of my direct team who have all come together from a diverse set of backgrounds with a common passion for analytics and gaming. We have created an inclusive culture. My team continues to be a superpower in terms of how they show up and collaborate; the additive reward is watching so many ideas evolve through osmosis.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting new projects you are working on now?

I work on so many analytical projects — from live games to new games. I wish I had time to share them all.

One project that is discipline agnostic and has just launched is Access All Areas, an interactive web-based platform that offers educational and career resources to future young gaming professionals, especially those from underrepresented communities in the U.K. As co-founder of Access All Areas, it has been an honor to launch Access All Areas alongside an amazing talented core group and content volunteers.

Even though gaming is one of the most popular social activities worldwide — with players from all walks of life — many young people are unaware of how they can apply their STEM and STEAM skills in the field and how to pursue career opportunities in gaming. We hope the digital platform will spark educators, parents, and most of all, young people, to pursue professional opportunities in gaming. While designed initially for the U.K., Access All Areas is open to anyone globally on the web and via mobile.

What would you tell a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your career? What advice would you give?

In analytics, it is important to be objective, ask curious questions, understand the scenario and available evidence, re-frame information, and ultimately find creative ways to solve problems. If this sounds like fun, then analytics may just be for you!

But I encourage young people to explore various careers and to seek their own passions rather than to follow my exact footsteps. Use other people’s experiences and career paths as a guide, but always endeavor to be true to who you are and what you enjoy. Think of a career as a joyful set of road trips rather than a single destination.

For any career, it is important to have a growth mindset — in addition to developing fundamental skills in your profession, endeavor to stay curious, creative, courageous, compassionate, and flexible.

Most of all, I would encourage anyone to find balance in their professional and personal lives that incorporates a blend of connection, energy, and calm. As much as I love the wonder of technology and my career, I value my connection to people inside and outside of work. Alongside this, I am also very invested in solitude sometimes and the power of nature whether that’s walking, photography, art, reading, or flying a kite. I find them all to be essential sensory engagements with the elements and that’s part of how I endeavor to find my balance.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

First of all, I hope I do. However, perhaps it’s more for others to say than me.

I do endeavor to be thoughtful on how I can make a difference whether it is in small acts of kindness or larger projects.

I have invested time to be MHFA trained with others at NaturalMotion, as we believe mental health is connected to physical health and both are equally important.

I also find it a pleasure to mentor and coach. I have always enjoyed seeing individuals harness their superpowers and embrace how unique they are in the way they show up and grow. To help foster a sense of purpose and belonging in teams and cultures that everyone contributes to. Last year NaturalMotion recognized this as one of my superpowers and I studied to become an accredited Insights Discovery facilitator. I am very excited about how this will evolve to make a difference.

I feel very proud of Access All Areas, to be able to work with everyone who has contributed to launch this platform. The goals to inspire young people, educate parents on career opportunities, support teachers in STEAM education, and provide resources to schools and youth groups will be a constant north star. I know everyone who volunteered to tell their story or work on the actual platform development has really invested themselves in the aspiration to inspire young people. It’s a real privilege to have a career where I am part of NaturalMotion and Zynga, where we can together take a project from concept to launch, thanks to Zynga’s social impact fund.

The truth is that none of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person that made a profound difference in your life to whom you are grateful? Can you share a story?

There are so many people who have made a difference in my life professionally and personally. Each interaction has touched on one or more small moments of wonder, joy, wisdom, compassion, courage or encouragement and they all really resonate strongly with me. These moments are like buds that develop into leaves and before you know it, they collectively form a tree with branches. This tree is symbolically important as on a good day I can look up and see growth, giving me pause to appreciate the whole, reassess the possibilities, and most of all, imagine how I can continue to cultivate to make a difference. On challenging days, that same tree offers a strong root system to keep me grounded and anchored until I am ready to look upwards again.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In Gaming”? If you can, kindly share a story or example for each.

• Understand how a game is made and explore the many roles and departments that are involved in your professional journey. I may have pursued a business degree in travel and tourism, but I ended up in gaming — so keep your options open.
• Appreciate the diverse range of talents and people needed to create amazing games and be an active part of creating inclusive teams. To create the successful games that I have worked on, people with various fundamental and hard skills, unique journeys, and diverse cultural backgrounds help make that happen.
• Creativity and problem-solving skills are very valued in most roles, whether focusing on what’s needed today, reflecting on past learnings, or looking forward to possibilities. For every new project I embark on, I have leaned on past learnings and gained knowledge from various experiences to evolve. I use that to create momentum.
• Nothing is finite — the industry is always evolving, so having a flexible mindset is important and a willingness to see opportunities, embrace change and pivot. Don’t settle on one career path — be open minded with experiences. You may surprise yourself by the unexpected opportunities you unlock on your progression journey — gamify your career!
• Most of all, never forget to focus on the user experience and to engage players in a diverse and inclusive manner. It’s crucial when we are fulfilling a mission to “connect the world through games.” For each project that we work on, we seek to consider the diversity of our players and develop inclusive experiences — players matter to us.

Wonderful. We are nearly done. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I would enjoy a conversation with research psychologist Marc Brackett, especially because of my current work with Access All Areas. I would love to ask him about the work he has done on emotional intelligence and his RULER programme for schools, which is an approach to social and emotional learning.

While RULER would reach and help young people, educators, and parents in a different way than Access All Areas would, there may be great synergies between the two — and I would love to ask Marc over breakfast about what those are and how we can identify opportunities for the work that I do.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Check out NaturalMotion and Zynga and look out for more content on AccessAllAreas.com as we incorporate user feedback to further enhance our content.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!