Biography

Game culture, storyworld weaving and technological development were always important parts of my life. From making board games as a kid and researching Iron Age mythology, materials and game remains as an archaeologist, to working in AAA and founding my own game innovation lab, The Collaboratory.

My academic background is transdisciplinary with strong roots in film and interactive arts. Other disciplines, like cognitive science and archaeology, gave a deeper understanding of communication (narrative) and technology (interaction). Pre-university I studied Dance, Organisation & Leadership, Business Economy, Web Design, Image & Form, Drama and Digital Arts. I started my first company while studying in 2007, and my first jobs as a teenager were in IT and data bases at a time when employees still had to take a computer drivers license and internet modems started to be common in households. Most of the time I choose to work with new experience designs and technologies, including doing research in XR, AI and developing cyborg interfaces as well as games, fashion and stage performances controlled by things like brainwaves, NFC implants and bionics.

My work is usually collaborative and I have a long track record of being a visionary servant leader, inspiring and motivating diverse teams. Leading and facilitating team building events, shaping road maps, diversity, innovation and brand strategies is also part of my work, mainly in the game industry where I have introduced hackathons, game jams and methods beyond design thinking, agile game dev and similar traditional processes. I have curated events and festivals with 25 – 70 000 physical participants, 900 000 online, of all ages and backgrounds. Often bringing game and maker cultures to the public in a large variation of spaces, like amusement parks, galleries, museums, conferences, TEDx events and shopping malls.

The lab Collaboratory supports indies, start-ups and students, as well as bigger organisations and policy makers, and it increased diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. We produced and curated numerous events and tools to share knowledge in game design, film making, diverse technical and social innovation, and design fiction, bringing inspiring people from all over the world to our spaces. My game art gallery Epic Unidragon was, just like Collaboratory, the first of its kind in Sweden.

I spent most of my career in a film studio, bridging film and game culture, working in a constantly changing environment. I have lived in many different cities, was recently a digital nomad in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Vilnius and currently have my bases in Montreal and Stockholm/Gothenburg.

As a person I am direct and honest, loyal and passionate about my work and if I set my mind on creating something it will be done. I can switch between doing many things at once without getting stressed, and completely diving into one thing for hours or days. As a high functional neurodivergent, visual, associative and systems thinker I can see the big picture and the small details and make the connections needed to innovate. I am not into labels but according to personality tests I am an Architect/INTJ/INTP type.

I have learned from a large variety of different social and organisational settings, and I value honesty, flexibility and direct communication. I have a very low tolerance for drama, discrimination, bullshit and spinelessness, and never fear standing up for myself and my communities. I believe in collaborating instead of fearing competition, and asking once too much rather than not at all. We grow only by constantly learning from others, and by daring to say yes to new things instead of fearing change and the unknown. A fearless yes and serendipity can get you into crazy experiences. Like ending up on a fishing boat with a group of strangers, at 4 in the morning, heading for micro-nation Sealand, doing movie car stunts without a drivers license, giving your first public talk at a fully booked TEDx event after being awake working for several days, appearing in a radio show in New York with a boy band and a rocker from Misfits, or in some kind of clue hunt in dark, narrow tunnels under the CERN labs. When I grow up I want to be an iron smith, making viking axes and swords.