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Resume

Craig Wells

Senior Director of Production

Summary

Global Team Leadership   ●   Complex Project Management   ●   Cross-Platform Development

For over 13 years, Craig Wells, a seasoned Senior Executive, has driven the successful launch of 7+ cross platform games for iconic IPs like TMNT, Rebel Moon, Lucasfilm, & Marvel. He has a proven and sustained record of delivering both critically acclaimed and commercially successful products through strategic product development and global team leadership to realize genre-pushing games.

Career Highlights

  • Directed Production Teams for 2-3 Concurrent Titles: Leading 100+ developers and successfully delivering on complex, multi-faceted projects.
  • Delivered 50+ Major Updates and Live Ops Events: For titles including Vainglory, Catalyst Black, and TMNT: Splintered Fate, significantly enhancing player engagement and revenue.
  • Launched Genre-Pushing Games for Iconic IPs: Titles including TMNT, Rebel Moon, Marvel and Lucasfilm, driving critical acclaim and commercial success.
  • Successfully Managed Full-Cycle Game Production: From concept to launch and live operations, coordinating cross-functional teams of engineers, artists, and designers.  

Core Competencies

  • Complex Project Management
  • Large-Scale Team Leadership
  • Cross-Team Collaboration
  • Scrum | Agile Methodology Expertise
  • Full Cycle Product Development
  • Vendor & Outsourcing Management
  • Strategic Project Roadmapping
  • Global Multi-Platform Launch
  • Certified Scrum Master
  • Live Operations
  • User Experience & Quality Assurance
  • IT & Cloud Infrastructure Management
  • IP Partner | Licensor Relations
  • OPEX & Cost Control Management
  • Diverse Technical Expertise
  • Content Creation & GDD Development
  • Project P&L Management
  • Financial Planning & Analysis

Professional Experience

Super Evil Megacorp  June 2016 – Present

Senior Director of Operations (03/2019 – Present)

In this role, responsibilities expanded to include Facilities, IT Management, P&L Management, FP&A, Vendor Contract Management, and OPEX Cost Controls. Identified and developed strategic initiatives to better align game development teams to company operations and infrastructure. Contributed to the transition from an on-site single title studio of 30 developers to a fully remote multi-title global studio of 100+ developers. Major publishing deals with Apple, Paramount, and Netflix were successfully closed with his close collaborative contributions as part of the senior leadership team.

Key Contributions:

  • Led a seamless transition from a purely on-site studio to a fully remote studio across 15 countries and 11 time zones creating operational efficiencies and savings
  • Contributed to the growth from a single-title studio to a multi-title studio capable of managing 2-3 simultaneous projects
  • Spearheaded major IT transformations, including the transition to Perforce for SCM, the migration of Development Infrastructure to the Cloud, and the implementation of Zero-Trust Networking and Security.
  • Established a modular 5-year financial forecasting framework that allowed for switching between different scenarios for easy comparison enabling better long-term planning and decision making.
  • Played a key role in the successful closure of 3 major publishing deals with three different large publishers, resulting in the development and launch of games such as TMNT: Splintered Fate
  • Provided strategic support to the successful launch of 3 cross-platform game titles across mobile, console, and PCs

Director of Production (11/2016 – 03/2019)

Oversaw the entire production pipeline for Vainglory. Managed multiple direct reports in production, QA, and localization. Established and maintained the release schedule for Vainglory for 2+ years. Assisted in management of the day to day operations of the studio in conjunction with the founders and leadership team.

Key Contributions:

  • 30+ updates for Vainglory on multiple platforms including managing two major evolutions of the game that were delivered on time
  • Drove operational efficiency by implementing strategic changes in QA and localization, achieving a 7x cost reduction
  • Streamlined development operations which increased stability and reduced the need for hotpatches
  • Coordinated our relationship with our Chinese publishing partners for the successful launch of the game in that region

Live Ops Producer (06/2016 – 11/2016)

Assumed leadership of the live operations process of Vainglory and established standard development and stabilization cycles and instituting QA, and Release Deployment processes. This led to more stable, predictable, and higher quality updates that increased player satisfaction and sales.

Key Contributions:

  • Established standard development and stabilization schedules and processes leading to higher quality and more stable updates
  • Implemented standardized Build Verification Testing procedures with the QA team which reduced the number of bugs found in the live environment

Walt Disney Company – Disney Interactive         May 2011 to May 2016

Lead Producer (10/2014 to Present)

Directed teams focused on cross-platform game development, leading 50+ developers using agile methodologies. Managed project strategies, chaired meetings, and ensured feature prioritization. Oversaw external vendor contracts and project budgets.

Key Contributions:

  • Headed a 50-member team consisting of talented Software Engineers, Designers, UI/UX, and Artists
  • Managed vendor relationships, ensuring contracts were executed, and invoices were submitted correctly.

Producer | Product Manager (1/2012 to 11/2014)

Led teams up to 50 people in multiplatform mobile game development. Managed development in milestones, overseeing all aspects from UI to third-party integration. Collaborated with internal Central Services teams to ensure compliance and timely submissions. Created and documented GDD specifications, and supported content and roadmap creation.

Key Contributions:

  • Major player or team lead in the successful worldwide launch of cross-platform games on mobile, social, and PC.
  • Instrumental in the launch of games for Star Wars, Alice in Wonderland, Botkin’s Hidden Cove, and Gnome Town.

Associate Product Manager (5/2011 to 1/2012)

Spearheaded development and implementation of games, including content, design, questlines, and text. Choreographed pipeline creation and guided the Quality Assurance team from concept to launch and live operation.

Key Contributions:

  • Instrumental in the generation of $2M+ in revenue for Gnome Town by leading QA and authoring 75% of the content

Academic Experience

Carnegie Mellon University – Entertainment Technology Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Master of Entertainment Technology – The MET is considered a professional, terminal degree conferred by the School of Computer Science and College of Fine Arts.

Graduated May 2011

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Fine Arts Studies

Graduated May 2004

Professional Memberships

Certifications | Scrum Master Certificate

Memberships | International Game Developers Association

Awards & Recognition | Anvil Award 2014 from Walt Disney Company – Forge Studio

Technical Proficiencies

Development Tools | JIRA   ●   Agile   ●   Confluence   ●   Miro

Company Management | Microsoft Office   ●  Google Workspace  ●  Quickbooks   ●  ATS   ●  HRIS

Adobe Creative Suite | Photoshop   ●   Illustrator   ●   Premiere   ●   Encoder   ●  Acrobat