As VP of Entertainment Operations, Oksana Kubushyna oversees operations of Riot’s Entertainment division with a goal to imagine and develop bespoke IP experiences and products - animation, film, interactive narratives, music, consumer products and beyond - that deepen players’ and fans’ connections to the universe Riot has created in League of Legends.
After joining Riot in 2014, she quickly rose through the ranks, holding positions including Head of Infrastructure, Development Director for League of Legends, founder and Head of Riot Platform Group, and VP of Game Studios Operations, helping build the foundation for, launch and operate Riot’s new games globally.
After a few years working on establishing Riot Games' Entertainment division and releasing the award-winning Arcane animated TV series, Oksana has shifted her focus back to Riot's Game Studios where she recently took on managing Riot's Production, QA, and Creative departments.
She has also been a leader of Diversity and Inclusion efforts within Riot. Her passion for the advancement of women in games and tech reaches beyond Riot, and she has been honored by groups such as Girls Inc. and Wonder Women Tech.
"So for one decision of a CEO, the entire company can take months and months of work on observing, orienting, and deciding before that decision is settled throughout the organization. Now, imagine if CEO the very next day comes in and makes another decision of the same scope, and another one, because for CEO that decisions already done. He can move on or she can move on, but the team is still like wrangling. So it's very important for you as a leader to understand the speed at which your company or your team can process your decisions and act and settle in them before you make the next one.
- Oksana Kubushyna
Check out our friends and sponsor, Jellyfish
To learn more about Jellyfish and how they can help you increase engineering satisfaction and create happier, higher-performing engineering teams.
Join us for one of our in-person community events!
That's right! We're hosting in-person community events in San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Chicago! Break out of your comfort zone and join us in a casual environment to connect, problem-solve, and support each other in our engineering leadership journeys.
Don't see your city on the list? No problem!
Reach out to Tim at [email protected] and let's bring ELC to you - and make it happen! To get involved email our Head of Community Tim at [email protected]
SHOW NOTES:
- Oksana’s experience building & leading the Riot Platform Group (2:15)
- Lessons learned while transitioning from product to platform (4:23)
- How to utilize cross-discipline thinking when building out something new (7:30)
- Strategies for transitioning from single- to multiple-discipline thinking (11:14)
- The benefits of empowering the team around you (13:37)
- Differences between building a product vs. building a platform (17:08)
- Tactics for balancing building ahead of stakeholders with maintaining vision (20:32)
- Internal measurement metrics that are key to Oksana’s team (23:03)
- How Oksana utilizes OODA loops within her leadership style (25:55)
- Tips for reducing the pain of the decision-making process (29:27)
- What drawing a picture of decisions looks like (33:25)
- Rapid fire questions (36:04)
This episode wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:
Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-Host
Jerry Li - Co-Host
Noah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/ Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan’s also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/ Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/ 
