Andrew Sheppard
Managing Director at Transcend Fund
Santa Barbara, California
Overview
Work Experience
Managing Director
2021 - Current
Managing Director at Transcend and board member at Ruckus Games, Fun Country, Live Aware Labs and Eggscape. We are a top-performing early-stage venture capital firm that partners with the boldest founders in the gaming industry to build the future of interactive entertainment.
Early stage venture fund focused on games and digital entertainment
Board Member
2021
GDEV (NASDAQ: GDEV) board member and shareholder representative. Chair of the Nomination & Compensation Committee and member of the Audit Committee. Providing governance oversight for this international gaming company as it expands its portfolio beyond its flagship Hero Wars franchise, which has been one of the industry's most successful mobile games.
Board Member
2018 - 2023
Board member for Rakuten Games, a joint venture between Rakuten, one of Japan's largest internet services companies, and Playco. Provided strategic guidance on market entry, product development, and partnership strategies for gaming initiatives in the competitive messenger game market.
Board Member
2015 - 2017
Board member for GREE International, a wholly owned subsidiary of GREE Inc., a leading mobile social gaming company that achieved one of the biggest game company IPOs on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japanese history.
Chief Executive Officer
2014 - 2017
CEO for GREE International successfully expanded GREE's presence beyond Japan, establishing a strong footprint in major Western gaming markets.
President, Worldwide Studios
2009 - 2014
First gaming hire and later President of WW Studios recognized for building Kabam into a leading game developer and publisher. Kabam was named by Deloitte as 6th “Fastest Growing Company” in the U.S. in 2014 with $1.5B in total revenues. Kabam was acquired by NetMarble in 2016 and the Aftershock spinout by 21st Century Fox in 2017.
Executive Producer
2008 - 2009
Executive Producer responsible for pivoting this social networking platform toward interactive entertainment. Created the first social entertainment destination with integrated chat and native 3D avatar system for browsers. Developed virtual goods economy and gaming features that attracted new audiences and positioned the company for its acquisition by Tagged in 2011.
Hi5 is a social networking site that allows its users to create, upload, and share content with other members.
Raised $52,000,000.00 from Crosslink Capital.
Vice President, Product Management
2007 - 2008
Vice President of Product leading the Western market adaptation of free-to-play PC games including Fiesta Online. Established core metrics framework, monetization systems, and user acquisition strategies for this pioneering publisher of Asian MMOs in North America.
Head of Strategy
2006 - 2007
Head of Strategy on Spore at Maxis, working directly with industry legend Will Wright on this innovative PC game. Developed go-to-market and platform strategies for this ambitious title that pioneered user-generated content systems at scale.
Electronic Arts delivers games, content, and online services for internet-connected consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets.
Raised $2,200,000.00 from TCV and TCV.
Senior Manager, Business Development
2005 - 2006
Senior Manager of Business Development for CNET Entertainment, a digital media platform covering gaming, movies, music, and television with 12M monthly unique visitors and $45M annual revenue.
Senior Consultant
2003 - 2005
Senior Consultant at Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, with a specialization in Gaming.
Deloitte Tax is an advisory firm that provides tax preparation and advisory services.