OldeSküül_Susan
Susan Manley,
Olde Sküül – Chief Operating Officer / Executive Producer


Avid gamer who became an avid game and company maker, handling the business side of fun!

Just the Facts
  • ChessHoldings Inc ( Aug. 2010 - Present) Co/Owner Operator
  • Consultant (April 1999 - Present) holding position of VP of Business Development for Nuvo Studios, Signature Devices, and Eagle Claw Studios
  • Expresso Fitness (Aug. 2004 - Nov. 2005) Program Manager /Co-Founder
  • Imagination Network/Worldplay Entertainment (March 1995 - Feb. 1998) Producer
  • Electronic Arts (Oct. 1990 - March 1995) Company’s first Project Manager
  • Strategic Simulations, Inc. (Feb. 1987 - Oct. 1990) Senior Computer Graphic Artist; Created art production management for the company
  • Video Adventure (Nov. 1981 - May 1983) Retail Store Manager
Susan’s Story

Susan has made a career out of building the foundations for others’ castles in the sky. She found her way into making games by way of retail management as the owner/operator of Video Adventure, a small computer and video game console store. Her first trip to a Consumer Electronics Show in 1983 convinced her that games would be her future. Exciting and thoroughly nerdy times!

Motivated by opportunities in the game industry, Susan resolved to return to school. She chose an unheard of profession and a degree that had yet to be invented: computer graphic artist. Yet she abandoned her schooling when Strategic Simulations (a.k.a. SSI) sought her out in 1987 to join the team making the now legendary Advanced Dungeons & Dragons “Gold Box” games. She shifted into project management over the entire art team as well as continuing to create art.

Electronic Arts hired her in 1991 to become their first ever project manager on their growing in-house development team. She managed the schedules of not only her familiar artists, but also engineers, audio designers, and game designers. Her formalization of the project process meant her teams became more predictable and self-organizing as they rapidly developed top quality product; while she took ownership of the operations aspects of evaluating, manufacturing, and releasing games.

From EA, Susan’s career took her to Worldplay Entertainment (formerly Imagination Network and later a part of America Online) as the producer of simulations, strategy, and later, sports game products. Susan not only managed product to meet customer expectations, but found herself green-lighting new product, hiring outside legal counsel and defining the processes for submitting and creating product from both the technical and business angles. At a time when developers could actually interact with game customers on a daily basis, they were all pioneering their way through multiplayer game ideals.

More recently she has stepped into the role of consultant, working in various capacities for such notable companies as Games.com, Global VR, Ubisoft, and many others. She has also started a few companies of her own, including Expresso Fitness®, makers of an interactive cardio fitness bike now featured in health clubs. She is a partner in several startup companies including Chess Holdings LLC, holder of the intellectual property of www.ChessMagnetSchool.com and www.Chesslecture.com. There she has turned the extensive video library of the ChessLecture instructional videos into premier collections of DVD’s for retail. She performs business planning, development, sales and marketing for these companies.

REBECCA HEINEMAN

CEO

National champion game player, writer, game designer, company founder and executive officer, and of course computer programmer. MORE

SUSAN MANLEY

COO/EXEC. PRODUCER

Susan has made a career out of building the foundations for others' castles in the sky. She found her way into making games by... MORE

JENNELL JAQUAYS

Chief Creative Officer

Jennell Jaquays is a gaming pioneer, a versatile game developer, author, and artist known for her extensive experience creating fun... MORE

MAURINE STARKEY

ART DIRECTOR

Maurine Starkey is a lifelong artist impassioned by her deep interest in popular culture; from comic books, movies, and television... MORE