It’s in the game: A rare look into how EA brought data science into the creative process of game design

Zachery Anderson is the chief analytics officer and senior vice president at Electronic Arts (EA), the world’s largest video game company, where he’s responsible for leading consumer insights, UX research, data science, studio analytics, and marketing analytics. His team uses in-game behavioral data, traditional consumer research, lab work, and online advertising data to provoke and inspire EA’s development and marketing teams to think and act “player first.” Previously, Zachery was head of consulting and modeling for the PIN Group at J.D. Power and Associates, corporate economist at Nissan North America, and economist at investment company Fremont Group. Zachery’s work has been highlighted in the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review and has won many awards, including the INFORMS Marketing Science Practice Prize. While at Nissan, he was recognized by the US Federal Reserve for the best industry forecast. He’s a member of the University of California Master of Science in Business Analytics Industry Advisory Board. Zachery holds an undergraduate degree in political science and communications from Southern Illinois University and a graduate degree in economics and political science from UCLA, where he studied game theory with Nobel Prize winner Lloyd Shapley.