Joy Sticks (Part Two): How a Global Leader is Revolutionizing Mentorship in Gaming

Welcome to PART TWO of Episode One of YEAR SIX of The Academy of Esports podcast!

I’m your host, James O'Hagan. Thank you for joining me as I welcome back my friend, Amir Satvat, the global head of startup operations at Amazon Web Services.

Before stepping into their current role, Amir experience included chapters as a principal publishing producer and key positions in business development and strategy at Amazon Games. They also served as COO for AWS' Inside Sales and Demand Generation Businesses, while spending over a decade in tech and healthcare sectors, working on strategy, operations, and business development. Amir's academic achievements include an MBA and a Master's in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MPA in Public Policy from New York University. Their professional journey is a perfect example of one of Amir’s career advice tenets: think laterally within a company to gain skills you need for your dream job.

As a dedicated gamer, Amir has played over 2,200 titles, cherishing series like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Monkey Island, and The Witcher. Their love for gaming began with Asteroids on the Atari 2600. Their passion for the industry doesn’t end there– Amir runs a thriving LinkedIn community of over 33,000 video game followers (and growing daily!), with many working in games.

Amir also loves opera, having created his first at age 14. With that in mind, we invited a surprise guest– Josh Shaw, Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Pacific Opera Project– whose blend of video game characters and operas is selling out stages wherever it goes.

Named as one of Musical America’s Top 30 Innovators in Classical Music, Josh Shaw is the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Pacific Opera Project (POP), which has been described as "L.A.'s most exciting new opera company." Over the past twelve seasons, Mr. Shaw has directed over 50 productions at POP, including The Rake’s Progress, Ariadne auf Naxos, La Calisto, Tosca: A Moving Production; and La Boheme: AKA “The Hipsters”. A frequent librettist for English updates, his Star Trek-inspired Abduction from the Seraglio and Nintendo-inspired Magic Flute (AKA #SuperFlute) have gained national attention and have been produced at multiple companies, shattering attendance records.

Enjoy, consider hitting “Subscribe,” and please make time to play in some way this week!

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Subscribe/Connect to Amir:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirsatvat/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/amirsatvat

Amir’s Games Jobs Workbook:

Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ORvB63Kq5pvXb8QDbEzGnJa_lFMiZmK2_vjglKgOKcw/edit?usp=sharing

Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6icqqopmsp39ool/221119%20-%20Games%20Jobs.xlsx?dl=0

Connect to Pacific Opera Project:

https://www.pacificoperaproject.com/

POP Curriculum: https://www.pacificoperaproject.com/education

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pacoperaproj/ 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pacificoperaproject/ & https://www.facebook.com/josh