Joseph Olin

Joseph Olin Game Industry Consultant
Executive Director, Video Game Bar Association
Executive Committee, International Digital Media & Arts Association
Professor, Videogame Design, Universidad Ponitifica Bolivariana
Adjunct Professor, University of Southern California

Joseph programmed his first game after teaching himself BASIC while working as a copywriter on the Coca-Cola account in the 80’s. Since then, Olin has been involved with more than 100 titles and interactive products on nearly every consumer game platform launched. He’s been fortunate to serve many different development roles in game production and publishing.

Joseph has an active game business consulting practice – It’s A Secret – working with a number of interactive businesses and educational institutions. He created and managed Videogame and Animation Diplomados for Ruta N in Medellin, Colombia, which resulted in more than 20 new studios being created at completion. Olin is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California videogame program, where he teaches game studio production and entrepreneurship. A number of his students have secured funding through their work in his class. Olin enters is second year as Executive Director of the Video Game Bar Association; the professional association for the leading experts in Intellectual Property law and continues to serve on the Executive Board for the International Digital Media & Arts Association.

Previously, as the President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences – the games industry’s largest association of accredited professionals - Olin grew Academy membership more than six-fold from 3,000 to 20,000. Olin directed the annual D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, the Interactive Achievements Awards® and the Into the Pixel™ video game art exhibit.

Prior to the Academy, Olin spearheaded the introduction of gaming’s most famous heroine, Lara Croft, with the launch of the blockbuster Tomb Raider franchise as vice president of sales, marketing and business development for EIDOS Interactive. Olin also served as senior partner and group account director at Ogilvy & Mather where he launched Mattel’s Generation Girl Teen Dolls product and the first Barbie brand advertising campaign. Earlier in his career, Olin held senior level positions in game publishing, advertising, sales, and marketing. At Elliot Portwood Studios, Olin co-created Leonardo’s Multimedia Toolbox, an educational software platform, developed with Gene Portwood and Lauren Elliott (creators of Carmen Sandiego). His background also includes tenure at Philips Media, Della Femina McNamee, Panda Management Company and Microprose/Hasbro Interactive.

Olin sits on the advisory boards of the digital creative conference FMX at the Film-Akademie of Baden Württemberg, AnimFX New Zealand, International Federation of Multimedia Associations (FIAM), Games/Business/Law Summit at SMU, DigiWorld Summit in Montpellier, France, Videogame Economics Forum in Angouleme, France, China Joy Game Summit, Videogame Economics Forum in France, SIGGRAPH Business Symposium, and the UCLA/CRESST Games Research Center and speaks at a number of digital conferences annually.

Olin earned a Bachelor of Science from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and has served as adjunct faculty at USC since 2010.