Conference Director- GDC Festival of Gaming

Conference Director- GDC Festival of Gaming

• Full-time

Informa Festivals marks an exciting new chapter in B2B events, bringing some of the world's most influential creative, technology and business festivals together. We’re combining prestigious events like Cannes Lions, Black Hat, Money
20/20, GDC, and London Tech Week with cutting-edge marketing intelligence platforms and advisory services to deliver unmissable experiences and insights.

Our festival-led approach reimagines traditional B2B events, creating powerful, immersive experiences that drive innovation and industry advancement. Building on decades of expertise and powered by Informa's international reach, we're shaping the next generation of business festivals.

This role is based in our Santa Monica or San Francisco office.

The Conference Director for Informa Festivals Gaming will lead the strategic vision, development, and execution of all live events serving the global game development community. This role encompasses oversight of the GDC Festival of Gaming -- the game industry's premier professional event -- as well as regional GDC-affiliated conferences worldwide and a portfolio of executive-focused gatherings.

As the game development industry's largest annual gathering, the GDC Festival of Gaming brings together developers, publishers, marketers, investors, and business leaders in San Francisco each March for learning, networking, deal-making, and celebration. This flagship event is supported by a year-round ecosystem including , GDC Vault, regional events, and GDC Digital products.

The Conference Director will lead a specialized team of conference producers who possess deep knowledge of the game development community. This role requires both strategic leadership and hands‑on collaboration with the editorial team at  to ensure cohesive content experiences across all platforms. The ideal candidate will bridge the worlds of professional event management and game development, bringing either conference planning expertise with strong game industry knowledge, or game production experience with a proven understanding of live events.

Success in this role demands exceptional team leadership, strategic event planning capabilities, and authentic engagement with the game development community. The Conference Director will be responsible for creating experiences that serve developers' evolving needs while maintaining GDC's position as the industry's most essential gathering.

• Develop and execute the strategic vision for Gaming group live events, including the GDC Festival of Gaming, regional conferences worldwide, and executive-focused gatherings
• Drive innovation in event formats, content delivery, and attendee experiences to meet the evolving needs of the game development community and maintain GDC's position as the industry's premier professional gathering
• Establish key performance indicators and success metrics while partnering with the operations team to ensure seamless event execution

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of conference producers, empowering them to leverage their deep community expertise and fostering a culture of collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement
• Manage team workloads, project timelines, and content budgets, making strategic trade-offs to ensure successful event delivery within financial parameters
• Collaborate closely with the editorial team at  to ensure cohesive content strategies across live and digital platforms
• Partner with marketing, sales, operations, and regional teams to align on business objectives and deliver exceptional event experiences

• Work with conference producers and the advisory board to curate compelling, relevant programming that addresses the game development community's needs across all disciplines, career stages, and emerging industry trends
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with key industry leaders, studios, sponsors, platform holders, and community stakeholders to secure high‑quality speakers and strategic partnerships
• S…