Headline

External Strategy & Operations @ EA | 1100% Yield VC | ISB Dean’s List

About

I build the infrastructure and systems that billion-dollar tech markets run on. At Electronic Arts, I manage global talent networks and India-market intelligence, recently using AI to automate 80% of our manual due diligence. Previously, as a Senior Officer for the Government, I wrote and implemented the public policy for gaming, animation and visual effects industry, directed a $120 million infrastructure project, while representing the state’s business interests at global forums from Hyderabad to Cannes. I have a track record of delivering rare financial alpha by taking contrarian yet forward looking, long-short risks. As a VC for a government-backed incubator, I achieved an 1100% portfolio yield by backing high-def PC and Console games v/s playing it safe with RMG and casual. I hold a double masters in IT and Finance, am an ISB Dean’s List scholar, and a Polyglot across major global hubs. I don’t just manage teams; I engineer self correcting scalable systems.

Location

Greater Hyderabad Area

AI stack

gemini

notebooklm

notion

ChatGPT

Work experience

Development Director at Electronic Arts (EA), Jul 2024 - Present · 2 y 2 mo, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, I manage global external vendor networks and specialized market intelligence for India. Currently using Agentic AI to automate 80% of manual due diligence and managing a 95% on-time delivery rate for flagship franchises.

Senior Policy Advisor at Government of Telangana, Oct 2022 - Jul 2024 · 1 y 9 mo, Hyderabad, Directed comprehensive implementation of a state-level gaming policy, aligning government departments and private industry stakeholders. I led a $120M infrastructure project. Represented the state’s business interests at MIPCOM (Cannes), FICCI Frames, UMAGINE, and IndiaJoy.

Chief Operating Officer at IMAGE CENTER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY STPI, Aug 2022 - Jul 2024 · 2 yrs, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, Achieved 13x growth in accelerated startups and a 40% faster turnaround in program delivery through strategic planning. I delivered an 1100% yield on our venture portfolio by strategically developing alpha on high-risk PC, Console, and XR tech over the casual-RMG gaming status quo.

Program Manager, Investor and Publisher Connect at The India Game Developer Conference, Nov 2018 - Jun 2021 · 2 yrs 8 mos, India, I developed the investor-publisher-studio marketplace for 350 studios that triggered $5M in investment and launched a dedicated venture fund. I brought 100+ investors and 65 global publishers together to close $1M+ in cross-border deals across eight countries.

Founder at Ilipsis Digital (Independent Venture), Jul 2018 - Jul 2022 · 4 yrs 1 mo, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, I re-engineered operations for high-growth startups to get them ready for exit, driving 30% average revenue growth.

Business Development Director at Dentsu India, Jan 2018 - Jul 2018 · 6 mo, Gurgaon

Country Head at Appcoach, Jul 2016 - Dec 2017 · 1 y 5 mo, Remote - Bangalore

Associate Director at Airpush, Inc, Nov 2015 - Jul 2016 · 8 mo, Bangalore

Product Head at Affinity Global, Mar 2011 - Oct 2015 · 4 y 7 mo, Mumbai

Head Business Development at Galaxy Weblinks Inc, Jun 2008 - Mar 2011 · 2 y 9 mo, Indore

Education

Master of Business Administration - MBA, Finance, General, Indian School of Business

ISB-NUS International Immersion Programme, International Business, NUS Business School Executive Education

Public links

arjunsarode.in: https://arjunsarode.in/