The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has named Meggan Scavio as its new president and CEO.
Scavio was formerly “GDC Bosslady,” or the head of the Game Developers Conference. She spent 18 years at the GDC’s owner, UBM, and was most recently general manager of GDC events for eight years.
The AIAS is the video game industry’s professional organization, with 35,000 members. The AIAS stages the DICE Summit in Las Vegas each spring, and it holds the DICE Europe event as well, with high-level talks from industry creative and business leaders. It puts on the prestigious DICE Awards, which are like the Oscars of gaming.
“I’ve attended nearly every D.I.C.E. Summit and Awards show for the past 11 years,” said Scavio, in a statement. “I’m looking forward to this next adventure and opportunity to really shape and evolve the identity of the AIAS in this next era of video games.”
In making the switch, Scavio will move from running an event with 26,000 attendees to smaller affairs with hundreds of people.
“Meggan has deep roots in bringing our industry’s best and brightest together – across discipline and company lines – to share knowledge and celebrate the labor of love that advances the art of gamemaking,” said Min Kim, chairman, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and cofounder at Bonfire Studios, in a statement. “The AIAS Board deeply respects her contributions at the GDC, and we’re looking forward to seeing her at the helm of the AIAS – to continue her story of bringing our industry together. On behalf of the all the members of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, welcome! ”
Scavio is a 20-plus-year resident of San Francisco and enjoys burritos and the ability to walk everywhere. For her first plan of action in Los Angeles, she plans on proving all the naysayers wrong about living without a car in Southern California. She also plans on living near a taqueria.
She replaces Mike Fischer, who held the job as interim head, and Martin Rae, a longtime AIAS chief who left last fall for a job in virtual reality startup Vreal.