Most executives manage growth. Yet, only a small number have operated at a scale where the numbers stop feeling real: platforms with hundreds of millions of users and businesses measured in tens of billions of dollars. Leo Olebe, however, has spent more than 25 years in that rarefied air. His perspective on scaling and leadership comes from having actually done it, repeatedly, at the largest technology companies on earth. For audiences wrestling with how to grow without losing themselves, that is a rare and credible voice.
Leo Olebe has spent more than 25 years scaling businesses at Microsoft, YouTube, Google, and Meta, and now advises companies and investors while chairing the nonprofit Games for Change.
Based in the Bay Area, Olebe has built his career at the intersection of technology, media, and the global business of play. Today, he works the other side of the table, advising high-growth companies and investors, serving as an independent director at OnMobile and a venture partner at Griffin Gaming Partners, and chairing the nonprofit Games for Change, which keeps his leadership lessons current rather than retrospective.
A career operating at global scale
Olebe’s résumé reads like a map of the modern internet. As Xbox’s vice president of global partnerships, he led a global team and deployed enormous resources to help power a 500-million-user ecosystem. As global head of gaming at YouTube, he helped grow the platform to hundreds of millions of daily viewers. As managing director of global games at Google Play, he led a multibillion-dollar Android gaming business. Add senior roles at Meta, Disney, and Electronic Arts, and the through-line is clear: he was repeatedly handed something large and asked to make it dramatically larger. That track record places him among the most credible leadership speakers on the practical mechanics of scale.
The business of play
On stage, Leo Olebe turns 25 years of scaling platforms for hundreds of millions of users into practical lessons on growth, partnerships, and leading through change.
What makes Olebe distinctive among business speakers is the lens he brings. He has shipped more than 100 titles across franchises including Star Wars, Marvel, and The Matrix, generating well over a billion dollars in lifetime revenue, and he understands why play has become one of the most powerful forces in global culture and commerce. He translates that into lessons any leader can use: how to build partnerships across rival ecosystems, how to grow communities rather than just user numbers, and why the companies winning today treat engagement and belonging as seriously as revenue. For a complementary view of the same industry from the creative side, our feature on Red Dead Redemption creator Christian Cantamessa looks at world-building as a business discipline. As chair of Games for Change, Olebe also speaks to how play can serve purpose, not just profit.
Leading through the AI shift
Olebe is increasingly focused on a question every leader now faces: how humans and artificial intelligence will actually work together. His view is that the design choices organizations make about human-AI collaboration will determine whether the technology empowers people broadly or concentrates power in a few hands, and that leaders have real agency in that outcome. It is a clear-eyed, non-hype take on AI from someone who has led at the platforms shaping it, which makes him a strong fit for audiences thinking about the future of work and the responsible adoption of new technology.
What audiences take away
A frequent keynote presence at events from the Game Developers Conference to the United Nations SDG Summit, Olebe pairs hard operating experience with genuine warmth. Audiences leave with a concrete sense of how to scale a business without hollowing out its culture, how to lead distributed global teams, and how to approach AI as a tool for empowerment rather than a threat. His is leadership advice grounded in having run some of the biggest digital businesses in the world, not in theory.
Beyond his keynotes, Olebe brings a hands-on side that event planners value. He created and facilitates a team-building exercise built around the idea of a shared “team soundtrack,” now also a Udemy course, that he has run with his global teams for years and continues to lead for groups he is part of. It is the kind of interactive session that turns a talk into an experience. That practitioner’s instinct also runs through his forthcoming book, Bring People In, on building teams where people feel they belong.
As such, Leo Olebe is a strong fit for leadership summits, growth and strategy conferences, and technology or future-of-work programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should organizations book Leo Olebe?
Because he has scaled multiple billion-dollar businesses at the world’s biggest platforms and can translate that into practical lessons on growth, partnerships, and leadership. He is equally fluent on the future of technology and AI, which makes him valuable to leadership teams navigating change. To check his availability and fit, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau and we will be glad to get back to you in no time.
What does Leo Olebe speak about?
His keynotes cover: scaling businesses and teams, leadership at global scale, partnerships and ecosystem strategy, the business of gaming and play, and human-AI collaboration. He tailors his focus according to audience and industry.
What companies has Leo Olebe worked for?
Over more than two decades he has held senior leadership roles at Microsoft and Xbox, YouTube, Google, Meta, Disney, and Electronic Arts, among others. Today, he advises high-growth companies and investors, sits on the board of OnMobile, is a venture partner at Griffin Gaming Partners, and chairs the nonprofit Games for Change.
What types of events suit a speaker like Leo Olebe?
He is a strong fit for leadership summits, growth and strategy conferences, technology and future-of-work events, and any program where scaling, partnerships, or the responsible adoption of AI is on the agenda.
To explore whether Leo Olebe is right for your next event, reach out to Aurum Speakers Bureau and we will gladly discuss availability and goals with you, anytime.
