936: Get Your Foot in the Door With Careen Yapp

·18 min·1 clip

Kareen Yapp reveals how a fashion designer's quote transformed her approach to every negotiation and personal challenge.

The episode begins with host Sheena Yap Chan introducing Kareen Yapp, Chief Strategic Partnerships Officer at Embracer Group and Chairman of Women in Games International. Kareen shares that she started in the video game industry in 1999 and has spent her entire career in partnerships, primarily acquisitions and portfolio management. She reveals her multicultural background: Chinese and Mexican on her father's side, Italian and mixed European on her mother's side, with the surname Yapp originating from her grandfather who added a 'P' to sound more American. Kareen discusses her favorite self-confidence quote from designer Alberta Ferretti: 'Nothing is impossible and everything can be done in the end,' which she keeps on her monitor. She defines self-confidence as a fluid journey rather than a constant state, something that requires continuous work. Kareen describes her childhood as painfully shy, winning 'most shy' awards at camp and being too scared to answer test questions quickly. She began building confidence through work at age 14 in a Nordstrom stockroom, eventually running it at 15. Her entry into gaming was accidental: she got a Thursday call for an entry-level position at THQ without knowing it was a video game company. Kareen explains that almost half of gamers are women despite the industry being male-dominated. She advises getting any entry-level position to enter the gaming industry, describing it as a young, lucrative but challenging field with a supportive community. She mentions organizations like Women in Games International, Independent Game Developers Association, and Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Kareen shares that her first boss, Jermaine Joy, launched thousands of careers. She offers practical confidence-building tips: start with one email, change one life at a time, and don't expect confidence to be permanent. The episode concludes with contact information for Kareen on LinkedIn and Women in Games International.

As heard by us

A career story that makes confidence feel cumulative, especially when a small act of responsibility opens a larger path.

Confidence takes shape here as a career history built through modest risks and noticed follow-through. Kareen Yap, Chief Strategic Partnerships Officer at Embracer Group and Chairman of the Board of Women in Games International, traces it back to a teenage job running the stock…

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Want confidence advice with a stock-room origin story and an accidental doorway into the video game industry?

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