The Blockchain Game Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing blockchain for gaming, has recently voted in new board members who will bring their expertise to the forefront, acting as a voice for the 500-plus members.
Since its inception in 2018, the BGA Board has comprised some of its earliest members. This year, the Alliance is taking the step to make these long-serving professionals Honorary board members and appoint a newly elected board selected by Alliance.
The community has now spoken, and on the 19th of July, 2023, the BGA announced its newly appointed board members.
Yasmina Kazitani, Chief Marketing & Partnerships Officer for Interverse.AI
"When I have found something I am passionate about, and I will go beyond & above to make it happen!"
Yasmina has over 18 years of experience in marketing, business development & gamification journeys. She actively works with the UK parliament and other institutions to set regulations and frameworks to help the industry grow and thrive safely. Yasmina is vocal about diversity and inclusion, which offer the industry a wider range of products and revenues.
Mariano Rubinstein Co-founder – Sura Gaming
"Latam and Spain are key players in the web3 gaming ecosystem & it is important that we have strong representation from these areas."
Sura Gaming has been an active and enthusiastic member of the Blockchain Game Allia.
Mariano's participation over the past year has been outstanding, including the regular online events, participating at BGA side events, sharing panels with BGA at AIBC Malta, and representing BGA at LabitConf in Buenos Aires and the Block World Tour in Granada, Spain.
Hideaki Uehara, Director of Business Development – Square Enix
"I plan to use my gaming business experience in Japan and the West for the BGA and its members."
Since 2019, as the Director of Business Development at Square Enix, Hideaki has participated in many events organized by the BGA, driving investments in blockchain projects and promoting collaborations within the blockchain gaming community.
The Japanese market is very promising for blockchain gaming, and Hideaki believes Japan could become one of the most attractive and important markets for BGA and its members.
Christina Macedo from Ready.GG
"BGA represents validity. I want to show the world that there is more to web3 than what is in the news. The accomplishments of blockchain technology need to be celebrated, promoted, and implemented. I want to have an impact."
With a background in law and a future in gaming, Christina began her career journey in the digital contracts sector.
Christina discovered the power of gaming when she entered the health and wellness industry and introduced gamification to tools she built. She strives to provide a face to inspire and invite women to enter the world of web3 gaming and innovate.
Leah Callon-Butler, Director – Emfarsis
"Many of the BGA's challenges are communication challenges. Solving for these will unlock growth."
Leah takes an active role in guiding public discourse around web3, having led content and programming for world-class events, including the Metaverse and Gaming Stage at Consensus 2023 and the Philippine Web3 Festival, among several other active roles within the web3 gaming space. Additionally, Emfarsis partners annually with the BGA to produce its annual Member Survey and Report.
Alex Kosloff – Head of Business Development – Altura NFT
"I'm on a mission to make web3 games fun."
Alex has a proven track record of achieving results with some of the largest corporations around the world. As one of Altura's first employees, he has successfully signed up 100+ games and secured major partnerships with industry leaders such as Unity, Cronos Labs, and various other partners.
BGA for Inclusion and Diversity
BGA is ahead of the curve when it comes to inclusion and diversity. In a bid to ensure the representation of all its members within the newly appointed board, BGA decided to create a separate vote for male and female candidates providing a fully diverse and representative board.
The new board is not only inclusive of gender but also represents members globally from LATAM to Europe to APAC regions, capitalizing on a wealth of expertise and knowledge from the newly elected Board.
Flavien Defraire, Director of Global Development, said:
"It is important for the BGA to represent all its members and to highlight the diversity within the Alliance, which is why we decided to ensure the election process offered equal opportunities."
Growth and View to the Future
With Sebastien Borget, founder of The Sandbox, at the helm of the BGA and president of the Alliance. The association is growing exponentially to over 500 members, comprising prominent players, such as Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), as well as games, infrastructure, and tooling within the ecosystem.
While still in a nascent stage, blockchain gaming is widely popularized as the catalyst for mainstream blockchain adoption, and BGA wants to continue to be at the forefront of representing and acting as a leading voice for its members to gain wider exposure, which it currently does through a range of on and offline activities.