Aaron Pulkka		aaron@pulkka.com 310-574-2878 Minneapolis, MN, USA
Summary	Experienced game industry professional, applying multifaceted technical and creative background to facilitate the development of innovative and profitable entertainment experiences. § Solid academic and real-world grounding: Master’s degree in Computer Science and well over a decade of international game development experience. § Especially adept at cultivating communication between teams and rapidly adapting to change – strong leadership, problem solving, communication and project management skills.
Activities	§ Game Developers Conference (GDC) Speaker (February, 2008) San Francisco, USA “What Are The Business Gotchas?” (Panel) “Game Outsourcing Around the World” (Panel) § IGDA Leadership Forum Speaker (November, 2007) San Francisco, USA “Leveraging Outsourcing to Enhance Development” § GDC China Speaker (August, 2007) Shanghai, China “Building Lasting Outsourcing Partnerships” § GamePlaces International Speaker (July, 2007) Frankfurt, Germany “State of the Game Industry” (Keynote) “Next-Gen Technology” (Panel) § IGF Judge (2003-present, Judge Emeritus 2008), Annual Independent Games Festival § International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Project Management Institute (PMI), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and Media Entertainment Technology Alliance (METal)
Experience	2008-Present Activision                          Minneapolis, MN Director of Production, Activision Minneapolis Publishing (2008-Present) § Supervising the production of many cross-platform game projects (including casual and mass-market console titles), by directing internal producers and external development teams. § Participating in slate planning, evaluating potential development partners, and managing P&L roll-up of projects to ensure franchises maintain creative, technical and financial objectives.
	2006-2008 Vivendi Games (Activision Blizzard) Los Angeles, CA Sr. Director of Outsourcing (2006-2008) § Directed outsourcing and offshoring of game production services for Vivendi’s game studios worldwide (Vivendi Games merged into Activision Blizzard in July 2008). § Facilitated the initiation and management of production outsourcing services for many next-generation game titles (Microsoft XBOX 360 / Sony PS3 / Nintendo Wii) including: § Ghostbusters, Prototype, Bourne Conspiracy, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, World in Conflict, Timeshift, Empire Earth III, Crash, Spyro and other unannounced titles.
	2006-2006 THQ Agoura Hills, CA Project Director, XDG (2006) § Co-founded External Development Group (XDG) to establish efficient pipeline between internal THQ studios and external outsourcing resources worldwide (including China, India, Europe and Australia). § Evaluated and engaged the services of outsourcing vendors, to allow core teams to focus on delivering innovative game play for next-generation games (360 / PS3 / Wii).
	1998-2006 Sony Development (Hyper Entertainment) Burbank, CA Vice President, Game Development / Digital Media (2001-2006) § Provided technology and design consultation for digital entertainment projects, including for theme parks, museums, malls, arcades, and other location-based entertainment venues. § Consulted as Director of Development for game outsourcing startup (VYK), establishing distributed production pipeline and successfully delivering assets for multiple console game titles (XBOX / PS2 / Gamecube). Managed overseas art production for clients in USA. Manager of Game Development (2000-2001) § Managed team of artists and engineers to productize HyperBowl attraction, originally developed specifically for SONY’s METREON, for the home and arcade markets (sold over 1 million copies). § Hyper Entertainment spun-off from Sony in 2000 through a management buy-out. Technical Director / Project Manager (1999-2000) § Directed game development for grand opening of SONY’s MEDIAGE in Tokyo, Japan § Quaternia, Badlands, HyperBowl (aka Cyberbowl) (Networked PC Arcade Games) Lead Programmer (1998-1999) § Developed motion-simulator game for grand opening of SONY’s METREON in San Francisco.
	1995-1998 Walt Disney Imagineering Glendale, CA Project Lead, Research & Development § Massively Multiplayer Online Games Project (foundation for PC MMO game: ToonTown Online) Show Designer / Senior Programmer, Virtual Reality (VR) Studio § Completed two launch titles on SGIs for the DisneyQuest location-based entertainment center: § Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride (Multiplayer VR Arcade Game) § Hercules in the Underworld (CAVE-based Arcade Game)
	1993-1995 Human Interface Technology Lab Seattle, WA Research Associate § GreenSpace (Trans-Pacific Networked, Immersive Game Demonstration @ NICOGRAPH Tokyo) § Co-moderated Usenet newsgroup sci.virtual-worlds (Virtual Reality research discussion forum)
Education	1995 University of Washington Seattle, WA Master of Science, Computer Science § Emphasis on Human-Computer Interaction and Networked Virtual Reality § Completed thesis on Large-Scale Multi-user Virtual Environments (MMOG) § Treasurer, UW Chapter of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) 1992 University of Washington Seattle, WA Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering § Graduated Cum Laude, with emphasis on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence § Vice President, UW Chapter of Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering honor society) 1989 North Seattle Community College Seattle, WA Graduation Speaker, Pre-Engineering § John Barton Memorial Physics Scholarship recipient (academic achievement award) § President, NSCC Associated Student Body § Treasurer, NSCC Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (National honor society)

Printer-friendly version available here: http://aaron.pulkka.com/resume/AKP-Resume2008g.pdf