In episode 175, Erik and Kerel talk with Anika Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer at Wondr Nation. Anika was born to two student activists in New Orleans and soon moved to Washington D.C. where it was safer and they could help more activists be protected while they worked to integrate schools and museums in the US. She fell in love with technology as a child because she felt like that was a place where the playing field was level, where if she learned about technology, she could succeed. She was put in a management accelerated program right out of college and went from intern to now being an executive, visionary, and leader.

Anika talks about the work she’s doing in gaming and tech, qualities leaders need to be successful, how her journey was influenced deeply by her parents and her upbringing, and what brought her to be CEO. Anika has been in gaming since before people even knew about it and she talks about being a key factor in educating people about these integrations, making the partnerships and experiences more fluid and fun, why sometimes being the first can be lonely and confusing, what she wants to be better at on a personal level, and so much more.

Timestamps

0:34 : Anika shares her story of being born in New Orleans and growing up in Washington D.C. to two student activists who helped integrate schools and museums at the time

2:04 : Where Anika’s passion and desire to work with technology came from, how her parents taught her and her 7 younger siblings that there are no limitations and what that continued to allow her to do with her life, interests, and career

3:33 : Anika talks about Wondr Nation, an online gaming and entertainment company owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and how the Indian gaming industry in the US is equivalent to commercial gaming

5:17 : The huge opportunity Anika had at the beginning of her career, right out of business school, to work with Caesars Entertainment, an accelerated management program, the experience she got, and why it prepared her for her first real job in the industry

7:30 : The pivotal moment of Anika to become the CEO and how it was a build up of a lot of little tiny moments that made her right for that position, and what made her right for it

9:33 : Being one of the first in the interactive gaming scene, Anika goes through what that time was like, watching the world start to embrace technology, and the things she was doing to advocate for that integration

12:47 : How Anika went through her experience of high technological standpoints in history and a lot of changes and how she looks at those times now, and how she thinks about it as a CEO

15:40 : Where Anika draws inspiration from including other leaders, conferences, new connections, reading, family, and friends

17:15 : The book Anika thinks everyone should read, even a book she buys for her employees

17:49 : What gets Anika excited, bringing together her team, building a company, her network and more

18:42 : The two things Anika says leaders need, which one is the hardest to lead with, and how to navigate both

20:24 : One of the most exciting times in Anika’s career, seeing a shift in gaming for diversity and inclusion, and the importance of bringing people together for connection

22:26 : Anika responds to a quote Erik presents saying “my brain works differently” and how growing up as the oldest of 8 probably had an impact on that

23:59 : One thing Anika wishes she were better at

24:25 : What is in Anika’s music rotation including Nina Simone, Bob Marley, Kendrick Lamar’s recent diss tracks, and more

25:28 : How to get in touch with Anika on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

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