Maria Yakunina

Group Art Manager at Strikerz Inc.
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Contact Information
us****@****om
(386) 825-5501
Location
Tbilisi, Georgia, GE
Languages
  • English Professional working proficiency
  • Russian Native or bilingual proficiency
  • Italian Elementary proficiency

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5.0

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Ilya Udovenko

Great manager! Maria was working in Art Department for a long time and was able to manage several groups. Sometimes it was building a group from scratch, sometimes taking a managment of existed group. I personally think that Maria is capable of holding any kind of group in Game Dev, not just art. She has all required skills for that - punctuality, responsibility, transparency in work, responsibility for the result, interest in the development and well-being of her teammates. Definitely reccomend! Hope to work again in one team someday!

Roman Sukhov

I would like to highly recommend Maria Yakunina for any project management role in the IT industry, particularly in game development. I had the pleasure of working with Maria for three years, and I can confidently say that she is a highly skilled, responsible, and friendly project manager. Maria has a wealth of experience in managing projects and teams in the game development industry. She is highly skilled in Agile methodologies and has an exceptional ability to ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget. Maria is a natural problem solver, and her extensive knowledge and experience enable her to handle even the most complex projects with ease. What sets Maria apart from other project managers is her exceptional communication skills, her ability to manage art groups, and her natural ability to build strong relationships with clients and team members. Maria is a natural leader and has the ability to inspire her team to achieve their best work. Her experience as a manager and producer of art groups has enabled her to understand the creative process and how to effectively manage a creative team. Maria is also a friendly and approachable person who takes her responsibilities seriously. She is a natural team player and works collaboratively with others to achieve the best possible outcomes. Her exceptional interpersonal skills enable her to build strong relationships with clients and team members alike, making her a valuable asset to any team or organization. In summary, I wholeheartedly recommend Maria Yakunina for any project management role in the IT industry, particularly in game development. Her exceptional communication skills, her ability to manage art groups, and her natural ability to build strong relationships with clients and team members, make her a highly skilled, responsible, and friendly project manager. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

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Experience

    • Cyprus
    • Computer Games
    • 100 - 200 Employee
    • Group Art Manager
      • Jul 2023 - Present

      Leading a teams of Project Managers and Associate Art Directors within the Art Department for AAA football simulator (PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S). Leading a teams of Project Managers and Associate Art Directors within the Art Department for AAA football simulator (PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S).

    • Cyprus
    • Computer Games
    • 1 - 100 Employee
    • Senior project manager
      • Sep 2020 - Mar 2023

      Managed teams of 15 to 30 people for a match-3 RPG mobile game "Puzzle Breakers". Worked with producers, feature owners, developers to define project scope to release, content requirements, timeline and deliverables. Responsibilities: ‣ Planned sprint, decomposed features, set tasks, managed expectations from Stakeholders and project risks, oversaw the goals, resources and deliverables; ‣ Facilitated clear communication between team members and Stakeholders, fostered a transparent and collaborative environment; ‣ Implemented new processes, increased efficiency, enhanced team collaboration and engagement; ‣ Managed team health, supported skill development and evaluation, drove continuous improvement, conducted retrospectives and performance review. Achievements: ✔️ Updated 50+ gameplay heroes within the first 6 months of my team's work cycle; ✔️ Boosted productivity by optimizing processes and enhancing collaboration between departments: - Sped up seasonal event art projects from 1.5 months to 1.5 weeks, all without losing any quality; - Halved the time to integrate hero ability effects, from 4 days to just 2; - Reduced time for loader screen development from a month to 4 working days. ✔️ Created a handy Asset testing guide for a Art teams; ✔️ Contributed to setting in motion the development of an annual performance review system for the art team specialists. Show less

    • Movies, Videos, and Sound
    • 400 - 500 Employee
    • Executive Producer
      • Oct 2018 - Dec 2021

      Developed and produced animated TV-series and computer graphics for movies, worked as an independent advisor - consulted studios about launching animation projects. Responsibilities: ‣ Project cost estimation: production schedule, budget; ‣ Hired and supervised production teams, built processes, managed production, controlled timing; ‣ Assured quality, effectively optimized budget, found balance between creativity and deadlines; ‣ Supported transactions with licensees: negotiated, controlled compliance with the TT material. Achievements: ✔️ "Doctor Dinosaurus" (animated series): obtained and signed a contract for 4 years of financing, launched the project. ✔️ "JingleKids"(animated series): produced 13 episodes as a turn-key project, supported negotiations and handed over the episode to licensees: FOX, Netflix. Show less

  • 100 KiloWatt, Animation Studio
    • Moscow, Russian Federation
    • Executive Producer
      • Dec 2017 - Sep 2018

      As the Executive Producer of studio, I launched and produced the animated series "My friend from Tau Ceti". Responsibilities: ‣ Calculated the project budget: 4 seasons / season / year; ‣ Acquired talent & conducted voice casting; ‣ Developed the project management structure; ‣ Launched production, managed production, and controlled timing; ‣ Controlled payments and provided monthly financial statements. Achievements: ✔️ Built the team for launching a project in 14 days; ✔️ Hired the core team members by myself (20 people); ✔️ Organised multiple casting sessions, including celebrities; ✔️ Built the flow and project pipeline in 2.5D technologies; ✔️ Readied the project to enter streaming production (11 minutes per month), after the second episode; ✔️ Completed pre-production in 5 months; Finished pilot episode (11 min) in 2 months. Show less

    • Russian Federation
    • Animation
    • 1 - 100 Employee
    • Executive Producer
      • Jan 2016 - Nov 2017

Education

  • Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia
    Bachelor's degree
    2010 - 2014

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