A team of seasoned industry veterans to foster crypto inclusion in the region
YGG SEA is on a mission to create the most sustainable play-to-earn (P2E) economy focused on creating real-life value for the Southeast Asian community. Behind this mission is our solid team of gaming and crypto industry veterans, working hard to bring a localized play-to-earn experience to Southeast Asia, with a vision to ultimately foster crypto inclusion in the region.
Everything that YGG SEA has achieved and aims to achieve can only be accomplished by an increased “feet on the ground” approach supported through localized operations. With that in mind, we have structured YGG SEA with a local Country Manager in each market we operate, to continually work to understand and better support different communities.
Introducing our team
CEO Evan Spytma is a veteran in the video game space, with a career spanning more than 20 years across executive positions within Unity Technologies, Electronic Arts, and PopCap Games. He has provided key strategy components to drive the industry in Southeast Asia to further success.
With Evan, he brings along Irene Umar on board as co-founder & Indonesia country manager to establish a strong foothold in our largest community in the region.
Co-Founder and Indonesia Country Manager Irene Umar started her career in corporate finance and banking and has worked in Indonesia, the UAE, India, and Singapore before jumping into the world of gaming. In 2016, she started the first gaming VC in the region focused on investing in companies along with the gaming ecosystem in Southeast Asia and beyond. An advocate for the gaming industry, she is a strong believer that gaming is the birthright of every human.
Irene’s role of Country Manager is crucial to YGG SEA, a core role to help YGG SEA adapt to the local cultures in which it operates. As such, our country managers often take a “grassroots” approach, learning about the unique culture from the countries, and overcoming both cultural and language barriers in guild management and scholars’ engagement. Ultimately, YGG SEA’s country managers aim to foster more meaningful and substantial partnerships which are key to truly unlocking the real value of Play-to-earn for our scholars.
Head of Investments Dan Wang graduated from Princeton University with a degree in economics. He is an active angel investor in sustainability and entertainment, and is a Venture Partner at Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC). Dan held international leadership roles in the Finance and Tech industries before embracing gaming. He joined Riot Games in 2013 and first led international publishing, then infrastructure and global expansion teams, before heading up operations for Riot China after Tencent’s acquisition of the company.
Beyond gaming partnerships, the YGG SEA team has also formed partnerships to facilitate collaboration with local entities such as universities and local governments to empower the local community, making real-life impact like onboarding scholars who would’ve otherwise dropped out of school due to COVID-19. With a need to make a living during the pandemic, YGG SEA has empowered them to stay in school while still earning money. YGG SEA also acts as an “on ramp” of many Southeast Asians into crypto, making it easier for many people in the region to adopt crypto products. Many Southeast Asians face the problem of lacking proper access to existing financial infrastructure. We are bypassing financial inclusion by accelerating crypto inclusion as a form of financial empowerment.
YGG SEA are proud to have the best and brightest of the industry as our co-pilots on this mission. Like every good story, a game needs directors, storytellers, and seasoned operators.
About YGG SEA
YGG SEA, the first subDAO of Yield Guild Games, is a decentralized autonomous organization for acquiring and managing NFTs used in the metaverse. Our mission is to create the biggest and most sustainable play-to-earn virtual economy in Southeast Asia. YGG SEA is a founding member of the Asia Blockchain Gaming Alliance.
