Meggan Scavio, the general manager of the Game Developers Conference, said in a blog post that she has resigned from her job.
Scavio has worked in various capacities on the GDC, the big game industry event that draws 26,000 people to San Francisco each spring, for about 18 years. She was one of the most visible women in the vide game industry, but she rarely stepped into the spotlight.
“Over the years, I’ve held different roles within GDC but none as fulfilling as general manager,” Scavio wrote. “Having the opportunity to lead an incredible team and guide an event that’s wholly community-focused has been fun and challenging and rewarding and complicated. Which is why it’s so hard to say goodbye.”
She joined the GDC in 2000 to help with what was then a show in San Jose, California. Her last day will be June 30. GDC showed a lot of growth over the years, but Scavio took credit for only one change: starting the show at 10 a.m. each day instead of 9 a.m., when developers were still sleepy.
“I will remain with GDC through June 30, after which I will become infected with an alien virus and birth a new species — oh, wait, no, that’s a movie,” Scavio wrote. “I will remain with GDC through June 30, after which I will depart for the red planet — what is wrong with me? Well, that’s the date of my departure, and next, I’ll be doing something else which I will eventually tell you about and it doesn’t involve space. Unfortunately.”
Simon Carless, the group executive vice president of UBM Tech (the owner of the GDC and other trade shows), worked closely with Scavio.
“As executive vice president, Simon Carless, with his game dev background, has shown unwavering support to the team,” Scavio wrote. “He’s been a driving force in helping the event maintain its community focus and gets maybe a little too giddy when wacky ideas cross his path.”
She added, “The GDC team will forever remain committed to the goal of presenting an event that is representative of the industry as a whole. We aim to achieve diversity of voice, experience, and perspective and that will never change.”