Carla Meninsky

Now retired, Carla is known for her unconventional perspective and creative approach to problem solving, combining mathematical principles, original research, and the arts.

Carla was an early pioneer in video games and computer graphics technology, and the founder and CEO of a technology consulting business. After more than 20 years in tech, Carla obtained her JD, where she applied the same unique perspective to solving legal disputes.

In 2011, Carla also received an LLM (Master of Laws) in financial law and regulation, serving the banking industry and lecturing at the London School of Economics.

Laila Shabir

Laila Shabir is the founder and CEO of Girls Make Games. A Pakistani immigrant raised in the United Arab Emirates, Laila attended MIT and pursued finance at BlackRock followed by economic research at The Brookings Institution.

Laila eventually found her passion in video games while watching her husband play Halo competitively. By seeing the skills he acquired through playing, she realized that a connection between education and video games needed to be formed.

In 2014, GamesIndustry.biz named Laila the Games Industry Person of the Year, and in 2018, she received the Visionary Award from the ESA Foundation. In 2021, Laila was also featured on Variety’s Top 500 Entertainment Business Leaders list. A game developer and proud gamer herself, Laila has set a personal goal to teach one million girls how to make games through her work.