The Women of Ubisoft series began so that talented folks from all over Ubisoft's worldwide studios could have a platform to share their personal stories. After reading about her colleagues, Lisa Pendse reached out personally to share her unique journey. Once I spoke to her, I realized it's emblematic of who she as a person; she's the type of person who goes after something when she wants it. So, when the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream of working abroad presented itself to Pendse, she went after it, and is now part of a proud group of Americans who found longevity working abroad.
Pendse started her career at Sony Pictures, where she ran digital theatrical advertising campaigns. In 2010, she moved to San Francisco to work in mobile digital advertising. A year later, Pendse was approached by Ubisoft to join the digital marketing team at Ubisoft San Francisco. After a few years in San Francisco, she was presented with the opportunity to live and work in Paris, where she is now product director on Just Dance.
What does a digital marketer do, and what is your role now as a product director?
Lisa Pendse: A digital marketing manager is in charge of taking the initial marketing strategy established by the Brand teams, and finding a way to filter that through to all of our digital channels. That means working a lot with YouTube and creative influencers. I executed the very first Vine program for a Ubisoft brand.
When I moved over to Paris, I became an international brand manager, which is very different because that person's role is to be the steward of the brand. I was the steward of the entire Just Dance brand; now, as a product director, I'm still responsible for how the overall brand grows, but I now focus more on making sure our game fits into the brand strategy, and that it goes to market in a successful way across the whole world. My team acts as the liaison between the producers of the game and the teams that take the game to market.
What is your favorite part of your job?
LP: I have more than one thing. The first is coming in and seeing my team every day. They're so talented, and they work tirelessly every day for me and for the game. The second thing is being able to work on Just Dance. I've never had the kind of job satisfaction that I have here. It's Just Dance! It makes people so happy! Don't get me wrong, it's a business and it's hard, but the fact that it's all for a game like Just Dance is so rewarding.
What was it like joining Ubisoft after working in mobile and theatrical advertising?
LP: When Ubisoft came calling, I wasn't sure about it. I thought videogames were just for young men who want to play violent games. But the recruiter that I was speaking to said, "I think working for the woman that this role would report to would be really good for your career." We both went to school at Emerson College, and this recruiter saw something that connected us, and saw in my future boss someone who could and would be a great mentor for me. So, I went into the interview for the role of senior digital marketing manager working primarily on Just Dance. I learned that Just Dance is a mass-market casual party game. I felt like I could really do something special with it.
I got experience working on more than Just Dance, as well. I worked on two Tom Clancy titles, Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Ghost Recon Future Soldier. It was an amazing experience, and I had incredible female role models in San Francisco who are still mentors of mine to this day even if our paths took us in different directions.
I remember having expressed to my managers in SF that one of my dreams was to live abroad, and working at a global company like Ubisoft felt like a happy coincidence at the time. They found out there was a role open in Paris for an international brand manager for Just Dance, and really encouraged me to pursue the job. I was a bit nervous about it; it was a different role than I was in at the time, I had only been to Paris a couple times beforehand, and I didn't speak French. It was quite a leap, but I had the support of my managers and mentors. So eight months later, I had an offer to come to Paris, and I've been here for more than four years.
I feel like they brought me here because I had something special that they wanted and needed, and I do my best to make sure I'm giving it to them every day.
Moving to a new country without speaking the language can be a scary thing, what made you want to do it?
LP: My parents were Indian immigrants to the US. They actually came from Pune, and now one of the studios who helps makes Just Dance is Ubisoft Pune! I travelled to India a lot when I was young, and I think that was what sparked my desire to live amongst other cultures. I left my friends behind every other summer for three months at a time to go live in this place that felt foreign to me.
When I started having the dream of living abroad, I had never even been to Paris. I wanted to figure out how to take advantage of the world that we're in. I knew it would be hard, and I knew it would take time, but I believe that if you really want something, you can make mountains move.
How has your experience been at Ubisoft Paris?
LP: The Just Dance team is strongly and proudly led by women; our executive producer is a woman, and she was the first manager that I had here in Paris. It's been utterly life-changing. I try to put her and other Just Dance women on the front line of our games at events and conferences whenever I have the opportunity, so that we can show there are women in charge of the games we play.
It's not only our management that inspires me. I have a team of incredible French women who report to me directly (and some wonderful French men as well). It's been a fantastic experience mixing our cultures together and being able to teach them from my experience. They have an American boss, and I have a very specific style of management that's very direct, instinctual, and relationship-building. I've been around for a while so I'm working really hard to teach these women that what people tell you is just the way things are, doesn't need to be the case. People out in the world may say, "sexual harassment is just a way of life," but I'm working tirelessly to teach these women that it absolutely does not have to be that way ever, while making sure I'm not pushing them too far out of their comfort zone. Watching them grow into more confident people that don't accept the status quo has been the biggest joy of my life.
Where does that desire to mentor them come from?
LP: I think it comes from the role models I had when I first started out, but it's also who I am as a person. The role models I had at Ubisoft San Francisco instilled in me that I should never take "no" for an answer, as long as you go about it the right way. It applies to so many things, it applies to my work, my negotiations, and how I view women's issues in the workplace. You don't have to be OK with the status quo.
My philosophy on management is that it's my responsibility to make the people that report to me better than I am. I need to worry that in X number of years, they're going to be gunning for my job. Because if I don't worry about that, or I don't have something else lined up for me, then I'm doing myself a disservice. The best way to look out for myself is to look out for other people as well.
My team is young; many of them are fresh out of business school, and I'm really proud to be their first boss experience. They're going to have a lot of managers in their lives, and one day, when they become the boss and have a team reporting to them, I want them to be the amalgamation of all their best bosses.
What was it like to transition from San Francisco to Paris?
LP: It was difficult in many ways, but Ubisoft is the reason I'm still here. Ubisoft gave me so much support, so much encouragement. My bosses have been so patient and accommodating, because I have weird things I have to do as an expat. I have to go to the government office to get my residency card, or I need to figure out how to pay taxes here, or I need to take extra time in the morning because I have a plumbing issue and I don't speak French. Whatever it is that I've needed to work here, they've either given me the space to figure it out or the support to help. I still write letters to my first intern here because she helped me set up my electricity (laughs).
This could've been a really jarring change, but the Paris studio was so welcoming, and I felt like they really wanted me to be here. I know that the best thing about working at Ubisoft is the people. Any time someone leaves and I have a chance to catch up with them, the number one thing they say they miss is the people.
I knew it would be hard, and I knew it would take time, but I believe that if you really want something, you can make mountains move.
Does it ever feel isolating, being an American in France?
LP: I have mostly good days, where I don't feel like an outsider, but I always feel special. I feel like they brought me here because I had something special that they wanted and needed, and I do my best to make sure I'm giving it to them every day. On the other hand, I have incredibly insecure moments. One of the most challenging things about becoming an expat is that it exposes all of your insecurities to you. For the most part, the language barrier has only been an issue in my personal life, because at work we're an international team, and we work mostly in English. But there are times when I can tell that being able to discuss topics in French would be much more productive. So I'm doing my best to get my language up to speed.
I can be a little bit of a brash American at times, and I feel like, at times, I need to acclimate to French culture a bit more. There are so many people that I love and respect here, and I feel like I need to show them that I respect where they come from. But it's really tough, because I'm bad at learning languages, and learning French has been so difficult for me. Twice a week, two hours a night, I'm sitting in French class, feeling insecure. I have a great career that I'm really proud of, I'm responsible for a lot of people and things, but when you put me in that room with people 10 years younger than me, who have all been here way less time than me, all of a sudden I feel like nothing. It's really emotional, but I can feel the growth at the end of every class.
I have been fortunate to get close to some wonderful French people, but experiencing life with them can be difficult. Once I was at a holiday dinner and I was just sitting at the table mute, just watching. All I could think about was "These people are never going to know me. They won't know that I'm funny, that I'm interesting, what I've gone through to get here." No matter how much French I learn, there will still be people who will never get to know the real me, because you always have some barrier, whether linguistic or cultural. That's terrifying in its own way.
Have those French classes given you a new perspective or appreciation of others?
LP: I gives me a lot of empathy for expats and immigrants all over the world. It gave me empathy for my own parents, who I used to be so embarrassed of for having Indian accents all throughout my childhood. I called my mom a year after I moved to Paris to tell her, "I am so sorry. Taxi drivers, waiters, store clerks can't understand me here, and I can't imagine how hard it must've been for you when you first moved to America."
I think if everyone had this kind of experience for just a month or two, we'd all be able to empathize with people all over the world. If anyone out there is interested in trying to live abroad, feel free to reach out to me. I love helping others take on this challenge, because despite its inherent challenges, it's the most incredible, rewarding experience that you will ever have, and I wake up feeling like the luckiest woman in the world every day.
