Game:ON Finance 2009 is pleased to announce four new speakers for the upcoming Fall investment forum. Hong-Yee Wong, Jennifer Blitz, Shawn Bailey and Brad Giblin bring a breadth of experience to GameON: Finance, ranging from expertise in funding and entrepreneurship to advocacy.

Hong-Yee Wong, Ph.D.
CEO
IUGO Mobile Entertainment 

Shawn Bailey
Director
Chocolate Liberation Front 

Brad Giblin
Digital Media Manager
Film Victoria (AU)

Hong-Yee Wong, Ph.D., CEO, IUGO Mobile Entertainment

Dr. Wong has more than ten years of passionate leadership experience in computer graphics, visualization, and digital entertainment. Most recently, he founded IUGO Mobile Entertainment – an energetic game studio based in Vancouver. In just a few short years, IUGO has become a leading independent game studio developing and publishing premium games on all mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Before leading the charge as a technopreneur, he excelled in his previous career as a Research Scientist, directing multi-disciplinary research in Immersive Visualization and Rich Media Entertainment.  Dr. Wong earned his Doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Western Ontario. He is well published and has supervised research at several universities.

Jennifer Blitz, Director of Tax Credits, Ontario Media Development Corporation 

Jennifer Blitz has served as the Director of Tax Credits at the Ontario Media Development Corporation since October 2006.  She began her tenure with the OMDC as a Team Leader in the Tax Credits Department in 2004 managing a team of analysts. Before joining the OMDC, Jennifer was a policy advisor for the former Minister of Culture, David Tsubouchi, conducting consultations with stakeholders and briefing the Minister on policy proposals.  Jennifer is a lawyer by training, having worked at the law firm of McCarthy Tétrault.  She received her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Shawn Bailey, Director, Chocolate Liberation Front  

Shawn Bailey is one of Canada’s leading Internet pioneers. For the past 10 years Shawn has been a critical leader, overseeing internet strategy and production of hundreds of projects at the CBC. Shawn’s work has been featured on numerous websites and magazines such as Communication Arts.  He has won numerous awards including the Batten Award for Innovation in Interactive Journalism, 3 Macromedia/Adobe Site of the Day and is currently nominated in this year’s Gemini Awards for Best Cross Platform Project (Being Erica). Shawn is one of Canada’s leaders in producing data visualization projects, first seen on The Tudors website and then on Being Erica. Shawn has recently left the CBC to join the new start up Chocolate Liberation Front as a Director of the Canadian operation.

Brad Giblin, Digital Media Manager, Film Victoria (AU) 

Brad is currently the Digital Media Manager at Film Victoria, a state based government funding body in Australia. Film Victoria has directly supported the video games industry in Victoria for over 10 years, investing in the development of local original titles. Melbourne-based game developers enjoy a reputation for innovation and excellence - from our earliest games company Beam Software, who developed The Hobbit in 1982, to the highly successful original IP development in the Puzzle Quest franchise by Infinite Interactive. While not sitting in front of a console, Brad sits on the board of the Victorian Mobile Industry body (Mobility Vic) and the board of the Interactive Media industry body (AIMIA Victoria). In previous lives Brad produced radio, built a motion capture studio, developed websites, video blogged music festivals, designed a graphic design course, made an animation studio and a bunch of other things you’d expect from someone who grew up with an unhealthy attraction towards his Macintosh Classic.