When Lennon Arcaro began working in the mobile-game industry in 2006, he and his colleagues at Gameloft’s New York studio were limited to the tiny screens on their flip phones.
“People didn't know if mobile games were going to be popular,” says Arcaro. “I was just a young lad who played video games and thought it would be a fun way to make a living.”
Fast-forward to 2022 and Arcaro’s career, along with the industry has exploded.
After nearly seven years with the Walt Disney Company, Arcaro joined Tilting Point as its senior vice-president of business development. In his role, he works with developers from around the world to grow and scale games, many of which are connected to major Hollywood franchises such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Trek and The Walking Dead.
A day in the life of a senior VP
“It's an action-packed, fun role where I oversee our partnerships with game developers, licensors and platform partners. Working on the business side of things is the game before the game, so to speak.”
On working at Disney
“My time there was really formative because I was able to see how things are handled in a large organization, where the stakes are a little bit higher.”
The Concordia factor
“My studies in international business really provided me a different worldview. Concordia opened my mind to various cultures and enabled me to interact with people from around the world.”
Career advice
“An internship is a great path to get into the industry. You may need to make sacrifices to develop experience, but once you have that and a solid education under your belt, opportunities exist, especially in Montreal.”
Industry trends
“With blockchain, I think there's going to be yet another level of deep community development. Players will have the ability to own components of their game. They will retain and extract value from the time they're investing.”
Passion projects outside of work
“I’ve got a collection of all the NHL games from Electronic Arts, from 1993 until now.”