Glenn Gillis

Role: Co-founder and CEO, Sea Monster Entertainment; Chairperson, Games for Change Africa

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Background

Glenn Gillis is the co-founder and CEO of Sea Monster Entertainment, an impact gaming company founded in 2011. He has more than 25 years of experience as a senior executive, entrepreneur and consultant across the creative industries, with expertise in the role technology plays in storytelling.

Before founding Sea Monster, Gillis held senior management roles at Clockwork Zoo and Moonlighting Film Production Services, as well as consulting across the media, creative and film sectors. At Clockwork Zoo, he led the restructuring and turnaround of the South African animation company while overseeing a team of more than 120 people and the delivery of international animation projects.

He is also the co-founder of the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG), a network of African games studios working to build the continent's games ecosystem and attract investment.

Current Focus

Gillis leads Sea Monster's strategy, business and funding, with the company focused on using games to drive outcomes across education, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, behaviour change and social impact.

He also serves as the inaugural Chairperson of Games for Change Africa, the African chapter of the global Games for Change organisation, which promotes games and interactive media for social impact. The organisation's annual Games for Change Africa event takes place as part of Africa Games Week.

Gillis is currently focused on expanding Sea Monster beyond custom client work through products, businesses and joint ventures, while continuing its work with international partners on impact gaming projects.

Industry Position

Gillis is a prominent advocate for impact gaming in Africa and has spent more than a decade working to establish games as a tool for education, social change and economic participation. Through Sea Monster, Games for Change Africa and PAGG, he has been involved in building the wider African games ecosystem and connecting African developers with international opportunities.

He argues that Africa's games industry needs greater access to partnerships and markets alongside talent and ecosystem development, and has called for the continent to move from discussing its potential to building a mature ecosystem capable of producing talent, creating careers and competing internationally.

What He Is Open To

Partnerships around impact gaming, education, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. International opportunities for African games studios and ecosystem development. Strategic partnerships, products and joint ventures aligned with Sea Monster's impact gaming focus.