In this edition of the Industry Insider, we spoke with Emily Leeb, CEO at Saroca about how her career path set her up for success, the essential qualities for leaders in the gaming industry, how companies can foster inclusive workspaces while driving real business results, and more.

Your career spans direct sales, advertising, media production, and now leading Saroca. How did your unique career path prepare you for success in the gaming industry?

Well first, success by whose definition? If we’re talking yachts and unicorn valuations, we might not be there yet. But if we’re measuring by impact, transformation, and how many leaders walk away from our programs saying, “That changed the way I lead,” then yes, we’re off to a very good start.

Two years into Saroca, we’ve averaged an NPS of 87 across our custom training programs. One cybersecurity cohort from Rubrik reported a 125% increase in "leadership tools I can use," so if those are our metrics, we’re feeling both proud and just getting warmed up.

But back to the beginning: I started in direct sales, knocking on doors, mall kiosks, B2B blitzes. Be it in rain, snow, or with soul-crushing rejection. Ten-hour days, six days a week for three years. I was a workhorse. That’ll build more than character. It’ll build resilience, work ethic, humour, and the ability to read a room like your future depends on it, because it does.

Direct sales is also male-dominated, so I learned early on and at a young age to take up space, beat the boys at their own game (which I often did), and lead teams with a mix of emotional intelligence and strategic hustle. I incorporated my first business at 19, ran an office, and like many entrepreneurs eventually failed. That failure became a bridge to advertising, and later, to a production role in iGaming with the Ayre Group in 2009, running European ops for what was then CalvinAyre.com.

Those four years embedded me deep into the iGaming world building a network of many who I feel are lifelong friends, clients and partners. This helped a lot when I returned a decade later with Saroca. I came back with a supportive network, a clear vision and a mission I’m deeply committed to: to help the industry grow not just in scale, but in depth. To shape leaders, not just earners. To bring EQ and humanity more into an industry known for the opposite, at times. To support the brilliant talent that gets cultivated in these high pressure, high performance environments and prove you don’t have to burn out to win.

So yes, it’s been an unconventional path. But it’s the intersections of grit, creativity, and connection that prepared me best to serve this industry now.

Leadership coaching is a central pillar of your work. What qualities do you believe are essential for leaders in the gaming sector to thrive in such a fast-evolving industry?

I believe deeply in a quote stated by my father’s late business partner from the 1980s that still rings true for many organizations today, “In any endeavour where human performance matters, coaching is present, except in business.” - Jim Selman

It’s been the mission of my father and his business partner before me to bring coaching and leadership development to the workplace, especially to high tech. To enhance human performance toward aligned objectives. Being a transformational leader means we shape the future of the organization and our KPI through the empowerment and growth of the individual. 

I come by this work honestly and I’m really good at it. I hope Saroca’s legacy is the impact I envision we can make on the gaming industry as a whole but more importantly the people within it, empowering them to live fulfilling, brilliant lives.

Adaptability and integrity are qualities that also come to mind.

The gaming industry doesn’t just move fast, it reinvents itself constantly. Leaders who sustain themselves in our industry the longest, with the greatest teams, creating the most inspiring results aren’t just smart or strategic (though that helps); they’re the ones who can hold tension. The tension between speed and sustainability. Profit and people. Data and their intuition. Opportunity and timing. They know when to trust the process and when to burn it down. And when they don’t always get it right, they are resilient, they pick themselves back up, they incorporate their learning and they keep going.

You’ve got an edge as a leader in gaming if you can trust your ability to navigate when the path gets foggy. When you can build trust like it’s currency, trust is what keeps teams together and partnerships from breaking when things get messy (and if you’ve been around long enough, you know they will get messy.)

Optimal leaders do their inner work. They look in the mirror and in gaming, you’ll be tested — by complexity, frustration, competition, ethics and at times, chaos. If you’re not grounded in who you are, what you value and why you lead, you’ll either burn out, get taken advantage of or you’ll bulldoze your team.

Leadership and executive coaching helps leaders sharpen their vision, widen their perspective, and build self-awareness. This impacts outcomes, retention and a team’s growth. When leaders grow, so does everything around them; performance, culture, and the bottom line. So if you want to thrive in this industry? Never stop engaging with your growth edges, both personally and professionally.

Diversity and inclusion are growing focuses across industries, including gaming. How can gaming companies foster more inclusive workplaces while driving real business results?

It starts with education and commitment. Not the kind you paste on your website or bring out once a year for a workshop, I mean real, sustained integration that requires hard work, commitment and effort. If gaming companies want to get serious about this, DEIB, that’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging needs to be built into the fabric of the organization. Top down. Sideways. All the way through.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t just about ticking a box. It’s about shifting how we lead. Diversity speaks to the makeup of your teams. As your company grows, the demographic breadth of your team should expand too and that includes your leadership structure and your talent pipeline.

Equity is about fairness and impartiality. That shows up in how you hire, how you pay, how you assess performance, and whether there are actual consequences when equity isn’t upheld. This isn’t about making everyone “feel good.” It’s about designing systems that are actually impartial.

Inclusion means everyone has equal access to resources and opportunity. That needs to be reflected in how you develop talent, how decisions are made, how values are expressed, and how leaders advocate for their people.

And when those three elements are truly present and not performative, you get belonging. That’s the goal. Belonging in a workplace means people feel safe with their colleagues, supported when they stumble, and trusted to contribute fully. And the business impact is lower stress, higher productivity, better collaboration, stronger communication to name just a few of the proven results. It’s not just good ethics, it’s good business.

If your organization isn’t quite ready to thread DEIB through every layer just yet, there’s still a place to start. Train your managers. Equip them with the emotional intelligence and core competencies that cultivate inclusive, equitable teams. It’s not the finish line, but it’s a powerful beginning and that’s better than standing still.

What trends or opportunities in the gaming industry excite you the most right now? Where do you see the biggest potential for growth?

Two areas light me up right now and they sit at opposite ends of the spectrum from high-touch to high-tech.

First, the human side. As more of the industry leans into automation, what becomes most valuable are the things that can’t be easily replaced. Things like VIP services, bespoke player experiences, responsible gambling and recovery efforts needed to heal problem gambling. Emotional intelligence, human-to-human leadership development, trust, creativity, relationships, your network and personal brand. These are all now competitive advantages. There’s massive opportunity for growth in how we elevate, empower and foster innovation with the people behind the platforms and playing the games.

Second, yes, shocker, AI. But not just AI for automation. I’m especially fascinated by how AI can enhance the human experience rather than replace it. I’m currently working with a subject matter expert on training AI models not to sound like AI (a noble quest), and exploring tools that allow you to consult your future self or the future, most successful version of your company for strategic direction. It’s like executive coaching meets time travel, so naturally I’m quite fascinated. 

So, in short, I’m really excited by the things only humans can do — and the smart use of AI to make us even more impactful at doing them. The real magic, I think, is going to be in the integration though, not the either/or.

G2E is the catalyst for legal, regulated gaming – fostering innovation and driving growth by convening the global industry in one place to get business done. What are you most looking forward to seeing at G2E 2025?

There’s nothing like stepping onto the G2E show floor. The scale, the spectacle, the ambition on display. It’s part trade show, part theatre, and fully reflective of the range of energy that defines this industry. From the flashy booths to the curated sector sections, it’s always a visual and strategic endeavor. I think it’s the event I look forward most to each year. I mean, we’re in gaming and it’s Vegas. Enough said.

I’m especially drawn to our startup ecosystem. I’ve got so much empathy for founders and those that support them. There’s something about the early-stage energy, the hunger to disrupt, and ideas being tested that reminds me why I love working in this space. I’ve been keeping an eye on a few ventures and I’m excited to see how they’re evolving by October.

Of course, as in all our opportunities to network in person, G2E is also about the people. The networking opportunities are ideal. These foster the deeper, more human conversations to happen on the sidelines of the main event. 

This year is particularly special because it’s the first time our entire core team will attend the show together. We’ve got some team building woven into the week. I can’t wait to experience this and all of G2E with my team.

In short: I’m coming for the opportunity and staying for the people. If you see me, please introduce yourself, I can’t wait to see you there.