Carlo Azzari
Carlo is a Game Designer who’s been part of the Irish Game Dev community for a long time. Starting his career at Simteractive and then continuing as a Level Designer in Black Shamrock. He’s been in Sweden for a little over two years as a Content Designer in Paradox, but is now back at Black Shamrock as a Senior Game Designer. Through all those years he’s been active as an IMIRT member from the start, and co-host of the Games Co-Op monthly meeting and community since 2019.
Elaine Dowman
Elaine has built a dynamic career across the entertainment, sports, and games & creative industries. She currently leads a dedicated team at Barclays, focusing on how the bank can best support the UK’s games and creative sectors, driving growth beyond traditional banking services.
Elaine spearheads a range of initiatives, including Demo Days, Expos, Accelerator programs, and Awards, all designed to foster the growth of the UK games industry. She is passionate about the creativity and innovation inherent in games businesses and dedicates much of her time to supporting indie developers by providing mentoring, facilitating introductions, and creating opportunities for them to showcase their games.
Her commitment to fostering a more inclusive gaming ecosystem is evident through her active work in promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives within the industry. Elaine also fundraises for SpecialEffect, a charity dedicated to making gaming accessible to people with physical disabilities.
Elaine is a strong advocate for the Irish games industry and recently hosted Nexus, Ireland’s biggest B2B games industry event. She has also served as a non-executive board member of a game studio, bringing strategic insight and industry expertise to her role.
Justin o’Connor
As Head of Finance at StoryToys, Justin works very closely at group level with their parent company Team17, this gives him access to extensive games industry knowledge, not just in Ireland, but further afield too.
Through his role in StoryToys, Justin has gained valuable experience in strategic financial management. Notably, he played a pivotal role in securing and successfully implementing the Digital Games Tax Credit (DGCT) for StoryToys, marking it as the first company in Ireland to adopt this credit. This experience showcases his ability to navigate and leverage government incentives to support and elevate the Irish game development industry. Justin continues to highlight the critical importance of the DGTC to the games industry, engaging with stakeholders in IDA, government departments to improve and expand the depth and scope of the credit. Justin has a BA in Accounting and is a Fellow with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Utilising the platform provided by Team 17, Justin and his colleagues in StoryToys use every opportunity to promote the Irish gaming industry in the UK and further afield.
Imirt's emphasis on inclusivity, diverse representation, and collaboration resonates with his values. Justin is excited to contribute to the organization's success by bringing a strategic financial perspective, particularly with insights gained from navigating government incentives like the Irish gaming tax credit.
Robert emerson
Rob is a Talent Acquisition & CSR Specialist at Black Shamrock - A Virtuos Studio, with a background in floristry and horticulture. While pursuing a degree in Human Resources Management, he interned at Black Shamrock, where he discovered a gap between university training and industry needs. This led to the creation of Black Shamrock's educational outreach programme, which Rob has led for three years.
Through this programme, Rob has worked with thousands of students across various levels, developed the Black Shamrock Scholarship Programme, and partnered with universities to make courses more industry-relevant. He's a strong advocate for diversity, organizing events like the annual International Women's Day talks in partnership with other studios across the country.
Rob was instrumental in securing the first D&I award for any game studios in Ireland at Black Shamrock, earning accreditation with the Irish Centre for Diversity. He also recently began teaching at Pulse College, guiding future game developers on industry structures, hiring processes, and job application strategies.
In his Talent Acquisition role, Rob has met many of you and often brings good news. He specializes in international relocation and work permits, helping Ireland attract top talent to grow the industry.