Steven D. Ellis

Steven D. Ellis

Senior Digital Product Manager | Producer | Licensing and Acquisitions | IP Development

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location of Steven D. EllisBig Lake, Minnesota, United States

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    Executive Director, Lord of Life Church

  • Education

    • American Military University

      2009 - 2010
      Masters Military Studies

      Military Studies with a focus on SOLIC (Special Operations in Low Intensity Conflicts).

    • Sahuaro High School

      1980 - 1984
      High School General Education

      Activities and Societies: Tabletop Gaming and Creative Writing Clubs. Emphasis on art, history and creative writing.

    • University of Arizona

      1987 - 1994
      Bachelors History

      Earned by Bachelors in History (emphasis in Military History) with a minor in Comparitive Religious Studies.

  • Experience

    • Atari

      Aug 1999 - Jun 2003
      Senior Digital Product Manager | Producer | Licensing and Acquisitions | IP Development

      -Supervised/managed both domestic and international 3rd party development teams on multiple interactive projects of various sizes and scopes. Genres ranged from military shooter titles to sports management simulations to hunting/fishing titles on multiple platforms. -Projects and brands I helped manage as part of the Atari team resulted millions of units sold at retail- ensuring our studio was a top revenue generator within Atari for Family/Casual Brand Division. Achieved a 100% on-time, on-budget product management record on all projects over four years.-Examples of brands/IPs managed and developed for retail include Deer Hunter (over 10 million units sold to date), Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter, Season Ticket Sports, Wizmo's Workshop, Carnivores, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and Beachhead. Show less

    • Destineer & Bold Games

      Jun 2003 - Mar 2006
      Executive Digital Project Manager | Interactive Software Producer

      -Managed development budgets, schedules and internal/external development partnerships. Ensured that products would remain on budget and profitable upon release to market. Responsible for licensing acquisition which included negotiating, signing and managing the agreements for multi-platform, interactive projects that helped increase company revenues.-Subject Matter Expert and product management liaison during the development of combat training software for the Department of Defense and other government agencies.-Designed and managed several of the Bold Games top-selling franchises such as the “Wings” flight simulator and “Indy 500 Legends” series. Managed multiple brands and projects with both internal and 3rd party development teams (both domestic and international). Managed day-to-day interactions between company and brand/IP holders. Oversaw both AAA and casual/family/kids brands and properties.-Examples of brands/IPs managed and developed for retail include John Deere, In-Fisherman Magazine, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, The United States Marine Corps, Wings Flight Series, and best-selling author John L. Plaster (SOG, Ultimate Sniper, Secret Commandos). Show less

    • Brown College

      Dec 2005 - Oct 2011
      Instructor | Academic Advisor (Game Design & Development)

      -Responsibilities included curriculum development/delivery, lesson planning, lecturing, drafting and scoring assignments for 12-35 students using multi-media, gamification and traditional pedagogical methods/techniques to better engage students and prepare them for their future careers as industry professionals. -Responsible for keeping class content current with industry changes, trends and evolutions. This included regular attendance at industry events like the Game Developer's Conference (GDC), GENCON, and other industry events sponsored by local, national and international game developers.-Assisted in growing the program from a few students to over 500+ students while increasing program visibility locally, nationally and internationally within the industry that resulted in our students becoming professionals at companies like Microsoft, Bungie, Activision, THQ, Fantasy Flight Games and Encore.-Served on Academic Affairs Committee as a full-time active member and was responsible for assisting in the development of school-wide academic methods, policies and procedures. As our department's Academic Advisor my responsibilities also include student retention, academic assistance, mentoring, “at risk” follow-up and general tasks related to the day-to-day operation of the program for between 200-500 students. Show less

    • Atomic Learning

      Jan 2013 - Jun 2013
      Content Team Manager | E-Learning Production

      -Managed and directed projects and initiatives that are forward-looking, visionary projects with emphasis on Gamification, Interactivity, Engagement and Assessment metrics.-Represented eLearning Production at the executive level in developing and implementing global vision in regards to Gamification, Interactivity and Engagement development on existing and future e-learning platforms in order to better inspire, educate and engage current and future e-Learning customers.-Executive level liaison with Solutions, IT, Customer Service, Marketing and Sales to coordinate and implement the global organizational road map within eLearning Production in regards to Gamification, Interactivity and Engagement development. Show less

    • Encore

      Jun 2013 - Oct 2016
      Project Manager | Scrum Master

      -Researched and located multiple publishing opportunities that translated into top 10 selling product with our e-commerce partners.-Managed development multiple projects with our external 3rd party development partners to ensure they were delivered on-time, quality and on or under budget. Maintained a on-budget and on-time record during my time at Encore to meet marketing, sales, production and release schedules to our retail partners. Managed relationships between all internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful development and product launches at retail and on-line.-Working within a very restrictive development budget, negotiated and signed multiple publishing deals with new publishing and development partners for little to no publishing or development advance that generated instant profitability upon release to market.-Worked with multiple development teams (domestic and off-shore) employing Waterfall and Agile methodologies/practices in the Senior Scrum Master/Senior Project Manager roles. Show less

    • COPE COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC.

      Mar 2017 - Aug 2018
      Behavioral Health Case Manager (BHT)

      -Responsibilities included working with General Mental Health (GMH), Serious Mental Health (SMI) and Substance Abuse (SA) populations in regards to coordinating care and community resources. -Assisted members in developing treatment plans, recovery/detox services, housing and living skills development.

    • U.S. Bank

      Oct 2018 - Dec 2023
      Certified Scrum Master/Agilist | Assistant Vice President

      -Managed internal projects on RSA Archer platform.-Managed corporate-wide project teams to complete enterprise risk and compliance projects on the Archer eGRC risk management platform; this system is a centralized online system used to facilitate, track and monitor Operational Risk related responsibilities and activities.-Servant Leader and Agile Coach to multiple Agile/Scrum teams supporting solutions within the RSA Archer platform in RTS group.

    • Lord of Life Church

      Apr 2024 - now
      Executive Director
  • Licenses & Certifications