Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2019 will take place on October 1st to October 2nd. To give you a taste of what to expect, we'll regularly be publishing interviews with the speakers at the show.

For more details on PGC Helsinki and to book a ticket, head to the website here.

In this speaker spotlight we caught up with Anette Staloy. Staloy is the VP of Business & Marketing at the Norwegian game studio and publisher Dirtybit, which is behind the successful Fun Run titles for mobile. Anette is also one of the co-founders of Women in Games Norway, that was established at the International Women’s day earlier this year.

At Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2019 she'll be part of a panel discussing making teams work, as well as presenting a session with Erik Pöntiskoski from DoDreams called What to do With Your Successful (But Old) Game Title? Postmortems of Autopiloting, Killing Your Darlings and Feeding the Flames.

PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about your company?

Anette Staloy: At Dirtybit we develop and publish F2P, real-time multiplayer games for mobile. The company was founded in 2011, and today we are 20 employees, located in Bergen, Norway. Our titles in the Fun Run-series have more than 120 million downloads all over the world.

What does your role entail?

As part of the management team my responsibilities entail management, strategy, recruiting, company culture and employer branding. I’m also responsible for our partnerships, including platforms, ad networks, local government and so on, and I run ad ops. In general all things management, biz dev and marketing.

Why did you want to work in the games industry?

Actually, I never imagined working in the games industry, despite playing games since I was a kid. Back in 2015 I randomly saw an article on LinkedIn about Dirtybit, and then my immediate thought was: “A games studio? Here in my home town?” I was perfectly happy with the job I had, but knew that this was an opportunity too good to let pass. I like to think that I now have the dream job that I never even dreamt about.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?

Start building your network, go to events, volunteer. If you are applying for jobs, make sure everything is in order with your CV and application, and add a motivation letter to really show that you want the job - and why. And don’t worry about not having experience from the industry - we need a variety of skill sets and backgrounds, and your experience from other types of industry might be of great value!

What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?

We have seen several M&A’s, and probably more to come. There has been a lot of focus on working conditions and company culture. I really appreciate that PGC events now have a dedicated track for this important topic, where we can discuss, challenge and learn from each other.

What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?

More awareness (I hope) and action when it comes to diversity. Both in the studios, in recruiting processes, in the games, and on the stages at industry events! There are a lot of great initiatives and discussions going on that I hope will have an impact.

How has the games industry changed since you first started?

There is constant change! In Norway in particular we are now seeing more attention and interest towards the industry. In September the government released the first official strategy for computer games. It has been of great help to be able to refer to the success of the other Nordic countries, in our efforts to communicate the massive opportunities in this industry.

Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?

Meeting with all the great people! At PGC events there’s always great talks, great parties, but most of all I appreciate the random meet-ups. Oh - not to forget the PechaKucha sessions! This year I am also part of hosting a breakfast event on behalf of Women in Games Norway, in cooperation with Women in Games Finland, that I am very much looking forward to.