Lee decided early on while studying marketing at UBC Sauder that if she was going to sell a product or an idea to people, it better be something she loves. For Lee, that was video games.

“I've grown up around games, and I love the people involved in them – both the communities that gravitate around games they enjoy, as well as the dedicated developers who create these games,” explains Lee.

At 28, Lee has already become a veteran in the gaming industry, having worked at companies such as Ubisoft, Gameloft and, now, Respawn Entertainment and on titles like Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six Siege and Apex Legends.

While at UBC Sauder, Lee completed a co-op term working as a community manager in a tech startup, which inspired her to branch off from her traditional marketing roots. Her current role as Senior Community Manager at Respawn working on Apex Legends involves helping facilitate the game's development process between developers and the community.

“I'm grateful that the world of community building opened up to me,” says Lee. “I truly believe that this is the most genuine form of ‘marketing’ out there. Empowering your community to drive your brand and product forward is super important given we're in a world where almost every market is oversaturated with brands talking ‘at’ people.”

Apex Legends recently celebrated its third anniversary and has more than 100 million players. Lee says a key part of her role is elevating leaders in the community who are passionate about making the game the best that it can be.

“Give your community reasons to understand and partake in the decisions made behind the products they love, and they will help amplify that messaging,” she says.

Lee credits UBC Sauder with preparing her for pitching ideas, working collaboratively, and understanding the stakeholders in the world of business – all skills that have helped propel her forward in her career. Given her talents for building community, it’s no surprise that the highlight of her time at business school was the people she was surrounded by – her professors and classmates.

One of her favourite memories was her time as Editor-in-Chief of the Cavalier, UBC Sauder’s student newspaper. “I got to meet lots of insanely smart and driven folks who used their spare time to drive our faculty forward,” says Lee.

“The Rainbow Six Siege community expressed interest in getting involved and giving back,” she explains. “On my end, it really was just channeling and rallying these forces together in a way where we can take the power of our game and community to bring about greater change. And thus the Sixth Guardian Program was born!”

She also cofounded Project AWR with Marion Mỹ Anh Baxerres. Sparked by the

StopAsianHate campaigns and the increase in hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, Project AWR works toward representation, awareness and amplification of Asian women in and adjacent to gaming. It recently surpassed 100 active members.

“Project AWR is dedicated to creating a safe space for Asian women in the gaming industry and to giving them a platform to amplify their voice,” says Lee. “We want to encourage more Asian women who are passionate about games to continue to find and solidify their place within the gaming industry.”

Despite her early success, Lee is even more excited for what is on the horizon for the gaming industry as technologies continue to improve and connect people with the experiences provided by games.

“I’m excited for video games to continue to create amazing new experiences for people to enjoy. I truly believe there isn’t anyone who ‘doesn’t like video games.’ They just haven’t found the right one for them yet! There are so many different types of games—there’s bound to be one for everyone,” says Lee.

Of being named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 – Games list, Lee says the accolade validates that the work she is doing is helping bring about positive change and that her choice to pursue her passion as a career was the right one.

“I don’t think I took the most traditional route based on the career paths seemingly laid out for us in business school, so I’ve had my doubts on if I made the right moves,” she says. “But this helps affirm that I can do what I love while still making use of my degree!”

Standing out from more than 2,000 candidates from 23 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, four young Vietnamese from four different fields have made the Forbes “30 Under 30 in Asia” list for 2019.

Forbes’ annually-issued list recognizes 300 entrepreneurs and game-changers from ten categories.

This year’s group of young stars are those credit with technological innovation, disrupting age-old industries, demonstrating immense talent, and dominating the world stage.

Among those 300 talented representatives are four Vietnamese: Ly Khanh Hau, Kevin Tung Hai Nguyen, Le Tan Thanh Thinh, and Ngo Hoang Gia Khanh.

Featured for the Finance and Venture Capital sector, Ly Khanh Hau, 28, is the most senior non-partner investor at the Ho Chi Minh City-based micro-fund 500 Startups Vietnam.

As a prolific venture capitalist, she has helped the fund invest $3 million across 40 startups, which have since raised over $100 million in follow up rounds.

Hau currently heads the operations of Saola Accelerator, a partnership between 500 Startups Vietnam and South Korean retailer GS Shop.

Kevin Tung Hai Nguyen, who was honored in the Enterprise Technology category, is a cofounder of JobHop, a Vietnamese recruitment service firm that aims to simplify and streamline the recruiting process for human resource managers.

JobHop uses data and AI technology to sort through applicant profiles across Vietnamese sites in order to recommend top candidates. The company claims it reached 500,000 job seekers and 2,000 companies since its founding in 2016.

As the co-founder and CEO of BranBeats – a music marketing agency, Le Tan Thanh Thinh was listend in the Media, Marketing & Advertising category.

BrandBeats connects brand specialists with music producers in order to create emotional communication campaigns for clients such as Pepsi, Unilever, P&G, and Nestle. It was one of three Vietnamese startups invited to join the World Economic Forum 2018.

Ngo Hoang Gia Khanh, an executive board member and Director of Finance for Vietnamese e-commerce site Tiki was the last to make the list.

Khanh has worked with founder Tran Ngoc Thai Son to transform Tiki from focusing primarily on books to a multi-faceted e-commerce platform that is among the largest in the country.

The online retailer raised over $44 million from JD.com and VNG in 2017 during a Series C funding drive and has just successfully secured the largest tech investment in Vietnam.

The 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Asia also gives spotlights to individuals from countries that have never before made the list, including Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Laos.

Well-known celebrities on the list include South Korea’s BlackPink and CL as well as 2019 Japanese tennis phenomenon Naomi Osaka.

What is the criteria for Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia?

There are no strict metrics when it comes to selecting the finalists (minimum revenue, funding, etc.) — overall we look at each nomination and evaluate based on impact, innovation, disruption, potential, and other attributes that stand out and make the individual or the venture worth highlighting.

What is the Forbes Under 30 Asia summit 2023?

B ack after a three-year pause, the Forbes Under 30 Summit Asia 2023, held in Singapore, gathered some 300 young entrepreneurs and trailblazers from a growing network of 30 Under 30 Asia list alumni (2016–2023) for two days of panel discussions, networking opportunities, food tastings, music performances and more.

Which country is the best in Forbes 30 Under 30?

India ranked first with 75 entries, followed by China (34), Japan (32), Singapore (30) and South Korea (28).

How does one get into Forbes 30 Under 30?

There's no one way to get on the list. Candidates are evaluated by Forbes staff and a panel of independent, expert judges on a variety of factors, including (but not limited to) funding, revenue, social impact, scale, inventiveness and potential.