Strategy/Program Manager

Ari Schwartz

*** ******** ****** **** #*** ■ San Mateo, CA ■ *.**********@*****.*** ■ 949-***-****

Professional Experience

Nintendo of America, Inc Redwood Shores, CA

Manager

September 2019 – Present

Business and marketing lead for Nintendo’s digital at retail and POSA cash and other business lines in the US and Latin America

Account management lead for Nintendo’s online digital retailer and POSA distribution partners and across cash, content, and subscription services

Content management for digital-at-retail sale and in-store executions utilizing Nintendo’s digital-at-retail technologies

Cross-functional lead for digital-at-retail operations throughout Nintendo of America including Canada and Latin America

Business development lead for new digital markets including Brazil and Mexico

Project Experience:

Business Development

-Lead partnerships, contract negotiations, KPI management, and new opportunity development work across digital, in-store, and hybrid sales channels

Marketing Management

-Marketing lead for Nintendo’s digital-at-retail and POSA cash programs in the US, developing and executing on marketing strategies in US and Latin America

-Develop and provide reporting to internal and external stakeholders to highlight successes and opportunities in Nintendo’s digital-at-retail operations

Cross-Functional Management

-Lead ongoing development of process and documentation improvements to speed up Nintendo go-to-market activities and marketing execution

-Partner with internal and external teams to deliver on promotions and sales including content on-boarding, sales programs development and management, and reporting

Sony Interactive Entertainment San Mateo, CA

Senior Account Manager

February 2018 – September 2019

Account management lead for $100s of millions in account revenue at PlayStation with a focus on top global Japanese publishers

Led new title launches across the organization, ensuring success and best-in-class service across all aspects from marketing to operations

Led reporting to senior leadership on account performance, providing actionable insights and risk analysis for PlayStation’s third party business

Project Experience:

Business Development

-Account lead for partnership titles with significant PlayStation co-marketing support ($100s of millions over two years)

-Program partner with PlayStation Third Party Portfolio team to identify and support new and exciting gaming content that will define the future of PlayStation

Program Management

-Project management lead for PlayStation 4 Hits initiative with expected revenue of $100m+ over 3 years

-Program lead for internal quality management programs that helped make PlayStation the Best Place to Play for our audience

-Led establishment and ongoing management of PMO programs and tools in TPR that reduced time and resource cost for on-boarding new content, increasing efficiency and co-worker well-being

Co-Marketing/Go-to-Market

-Led co-marketing planning utilizing all of PlayStation’s marketing channels on indie and non-partner title launches

-Partner with PlayStation marketing teams to plan and execute partnership marketing plans on top-tier third party releases

-Managed start-to-finish go-to-market planning and execution for physical and digital launches across all of PlayStation’s business, marketing, and operational units, including reporting and issue resolution

Led

Sony Interactive Entertainment San Mateo, CA

Program Manager

October 2016 – February 2018

Led program management for SIE Consumer Services Product Readiness team, focusing on partner relations with third-party call center, ensuring over 800 agents deliver world-class customer service to PlayStation consumers every day

Partnered with tech ops and content/store ops teams to ensure content availability for consumers across PS Vue, PS Now, and other PlayStation Services

Partnered with business and development teams to provide consumer feedback and improve services to maximize market opportunities

Developed project and program plans for consumer services, ensuring third-party operational readiness for product launches

Project Experience:

Project Management

-Developed ongoing relationship with new CS business partner, building program partnership

-Led development of new program flows to ensure high level of consumer experience with 100+ consumer agents

-Revamped entire agent decision-making process for several flows, ensuring delivery of KPI improvement proof

Gaikai/Sony Interactive Entertainment Aliso Viejo, CA

Program Manager

April 2015 – October 2016

Led program management for development of Sony’s PlayStation Now partner integrations, including consumer electronics partners and PC application

Developed project and program plans from ideation to go-to-market activities, ensuring on-time business and financial delivery

Maintained inter-team and executive relations through reporting and documentation, including BIS reporting

Drove on-time delivery of feature and program requirements through development of program-level process

7 Layers, Inc, Irvine, CA

Project Manager/Account Manager

May 2012 – April 2015

Account Management/Project Management

Maintained customer relations through sales and on-going project management

Managed certification projects (budget, manpower, testing plans) for customers seeking approval of wireless devices

Managed P&L of projects, including POs and third-party outsourcing as necessary

Led project management for major international firms, including Kyocera, Sony, and Denso

Personnel Management

Managed a team of two project coordinators, including time management, resource allocation, and review and coaching

Coordinate project management team in utilization of project coordinators, ensuring fair support across all projects

Education

University of California, San Diego

September 2006-June 2008

Master of Pacific International Affairs, Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies

Career Specialization: International Management

Relevant Coursework: Corporate Finance, Managerial Economics, Accounting, Marketing, Strategy & Negotiation

University of California, Los Angeles

September 2002-June 2005

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, College of Letters and Science

Minor in Japanese Language

Achievements: Cum Laude, College Honors

Senior Thesis: Amending Article 9: Honor, Symbols, and Insurance Policies

Tsukuba University, Japan

June – November 2003

Through University of California, Education Abroad Program

Coursework: Japanese language, culture, and politics

Skills

Technical Skills: Rally, JIRA, Trello, Confluence, MS Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Keynote, R, STATA, SAS

Areas of Expertise: Knowledge of all major software development regimes: Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, front-end and back-end development, as well as wireless, gaming, technology markets, and project and program management philosophies

Languages: Proficient Japanese, intermediate Spanish

Certifications: Scaled Agile for Enterprise Certified

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