Hannah Lea Wood
Development Director//People Leader
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I'm a Senior Development Director with Electronic Arts' Creative Innovations team.
I enable teams of talented developers whose mission is to deliver world-class tools and technologies to our game content creators across the globe.
The images above are just a small selection of games my work has supported.
"You cannot manage men into battle.
You manage things; you lead people."
- Grace Hopper
Replace “battle” with “shipping a product,” and I think that about covers it. Processes and policies are important to product and project management. They help keep things organized, and they help keep you efficient (and sane)—but they aren’t what makes games. Your team makes games. Your humans.
My role is all about keeping humans happy, engaged, and growing—which keeps pipelines flowing, creators creating, and technology leap-frogging—all to help games get going. In short...
I strive to enable creative humans to do what they do best.
I guess want to be like Gandalf. The fellowship (my team) has got to get the ring (the product) to Mordor (shipped) before all hell breaks loose. I'm there to usher them onwards, console the fearful, and support with whatever magic I can provide. I know I'm doing it right when my team trusts me, seeks my support and coaching, and allows me to partner in their careers. I support them as they grow and become self-sufficient in hopes that, at first light on the fifth day, they won’t need me…but I’ll still be there in the east if they do.
I'm Hannah Lea
With 13 years in the gaming industry, I’ve supported titles ranging from top-tier mobile to international AAA IPs and developer pipelines ranging from simple, reliable scripts through cutting-edge procedural and generative AI tooling. I've been an artist, a producer, a project manager, and a process creator, but my greatest love is leading teams by supporting humans.
I'm still playing Skyrim (and you can't stop me).
I play a male hrothgar in Final Fantasy 14, and I'm not ashamed about it.
I spend too many hours in The Sims, but only to build cute houses.
I will always choose to play the sniper or the sneaky archer—and I'm not certain what that says about me.
I also love drawing, creative writing, and playing string instruments.
I make too many lists, I adore Excel, and Claude is my best friend.
I refuse to eat anything that lived in the water at any point in its life.
I have 2 loving partners and 3 mischievous cats.
And I can't wait to meet you!
RESUME
SKILLS
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Project and Budget Management
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People Leadership and Career Coaching
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Agile Development: Scrum, Kanban
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Various AI assistants and generative tools
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Microsoft and Google suites
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Jira, Asana, ShotGrid
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Confluence, Coda, Miro
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Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat
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Perforce
EXPERIENCE
ELECTRONIC ARTS (EA)
January 2026 – present
Senior Development Director
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Leading communications strategy for an AI enablement initiative, driving cohesive messaging and coordination across creative, technical, and IT partners
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Overseeing enablement of new AI technologies, partnering with technical teams on releases, training, and documentation to support organization-wide adoption
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Shaping partnership standards and collaboration culture, ensuring teams are equipped to produce career-defining work
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Developing tracking and reporting structures to measure engagement, adoption, and risk, providing executive visibility into initiative outcomes
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Managing career growth for a team of 4 direct and 10 indirect reports
June 2022 – January 2026
Development Director II
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Managed a team of 9 direct and 5 indirect reports, providing coaching and supporting career growth
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Coordinated planning and delivery of next-gen creator tools and foundational technologies
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Designed culture workshops and cross-team summits, establishing partnership excellence standards
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Built reporting frameworks and managed departmental budget, enabling executive visibility into performance and risk
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Led hiring initiatives and championed DEI efforts, including ERG leadership coaching
June 2019 – May 2022
Development Director
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Built capacity plans and monitored quarterly project delivery
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Partnered with technical directors and product owners on metrics gathering, reporting, and analysis
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Coached a team of direct and skip-level reports, supporting their career growth
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Led the local Women's ERG chapter, advancing DEI initiatives across regional leadership
March 2017 – May 2019
Development Manager
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Served as Scrum Master for multiple project teams within a central technology group
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Adapted project management processes to team needs, improving velocity, estimation accuracy, and engagement
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Coached a small team of direct reports and supported hiring, administration, and event planning
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Participated in DEI initiatives across multiple ERGs
December 2013 – September 2016
Project Manager, Mindwalk Studios
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Managed 15+ outsourced art and animation teams on AAA titles including Uncharted 4 and Guild Wars 2
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Established communication pipelines and efficiency standards adopted company-wide
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Built lasting client relationships through consistent milestone delivery and proactive communication
EDUCATION
December 2026 (expected)
Rice University - Jones Graduate School of Business
Master of Business Administration
June 2013
Savannah College of Art and Design
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Interactive Design and Game Development
