Louise Conolly-Smith is Head of Creative at London & Partners.
This year she has also spent six months at Here East, the innovation campus on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, helping build out the existing video games and esports cluster there.
Previous to her current role, she worked with rapidly scaling North American technology companies based in London. She has worked at the Design Council delivering a national business support programme and at Business Link as a coach and mentor to high growth companies.
We caught up with Conolly-Smith to talk about the future of the gaming industry in London.
PocketGamer.biz: Can you tell us a bit about London & Partners?
Louise Conolly-Smith: London & Partners is the international trade, investment and promotion agency for London.
What does your role entail?
My role within the company is developing a strategy about which of the creative industries we will focus on to promote globally to attract business visitors, conferences, events and business to come to London.
One of those sectors is video games and Esports where London has the opportunity to become the European hub.
Why did you want to work in the games industry?
Video games and Esports are a real growth sector for London, especially with the strong immersive sector that already exists here.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get into it?
Be open to opportunities as it is a very collaborative space.
What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?
I think there will be more companies looking at how to use immersive, AR and VR in games in a way that make the games more accessible to the consumer.
Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?
I’m very interested in the big screen gaming track, especially the talks on AR/XR.
At Pocket Gamer Connects London 2020, Louise Conolly-Smith will be part of a panel discussing what’s in store for the UK games industry post Brexit. For more information, and to book your tickets for the event, click here.
