In this episode of the Hungama Game Changers Leadership Series, we sit down with Poornima Seetharaman, Director of Design at Zynga and one of the most influential voices in game design to emerge from India’s gaming ecosystem. From entering the industry at a time when gaming barely existed in the country to leading design at global scale, Poornima reflects on a career shaped by curiosity, creativity, and conviction. She speaks candidly about discovering game design through storytelling and world-building, navigating an industry driven by passion yet increasingly constrained by metrics, and the personal cost of crunch culture and burnout. The conversation explores leadership without performative authority, the invisible labor women carry in male-dominated workplaces, imposter syndrome, and the pressure of constantly having to prove one’s worth. Poornima also unpacks the tension between creativity and commercial success, compensation realities in gaming, and why sustainable work cultures are critical for long-term impact. Thoughtful, incisive, and deeply grounded in lived experience, this episode is a powerful reflection on creativity, resilience, and leading with integrity in an industry that often prioritizes numbers over people.

In this episode of the Hungama Game Changers Leadership Series, we sit down with Kanan Rai, a senior leader who has been at the heart of India’s digital and technology transformation across big tech, fintech, entertainment, and now AI. With a career spanning Google, platform-building at scale, and leadership roles across some of the country’s most influential ecosystems, Kanan reflects on a journey defined by adaptability, credibility, and a deep commitment to creating value. From helping shape India’s apps and games economy to navigating male-dominated industries as an outsider, she speaks candidly about confidence, proof of work, and what it truly takes to build influence over time. The conversation explores leadership without noise, earning respect in complex cultural environments, negotiating visibility, mentoring, and why belief in one’s own worth is foundational to growth. Thoughtful, grounded, and quietly powerful, this episode is a compelling reflection on credibility, resilience, and leading through substance rather than spectacle.

In this episode of the Hungama Game Changers Leadership Series, we sit down with Nirmika Singh, music journalist, poet, entrepreneur, and one of the most influential cultural voices in India’s contemporary music ecosystem. With a career spanning journalism, artistry, and creative entrepreneurship, Nirmika reflects on a journey shaped by curiosity, courage, and a rare insider–outsider perspective on the industry’s evolution. From becoming one of the youngest editors at Rolling Stone India to building scalable creative IPs and intimate cultural communities, she speaks candidly about visibility, gatekeeping, and the structural barriers women face in music. The conversation explores leadership as catalysis, the economics of creativity, the power of consistency, gendered access to opportunity, and why talent alone is never enough without visibility. Insightful, reflective, and deeply honest, this episode is a powerful meditation on merit, voice, and building creative ecosystems that endure.