Bonnie Ross, Head of 343 Industries and Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Studios, will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame. Ross is the 23rd recipient of the award, which will be presented by Phil Spencer during the D.I.C.E. Awards on Feb. 13, 2019.
After graduating from Colorado State University with a Technical Communications degree, Ross worked on a number of notable games. The first title she worked on was NBA Full Court Press for Windows, and from there, she went on to work on a wide variety of other projects, including Zoo Tycoon, Gears of War, and Mass Effect.
After Bungie decided to leave Microsoft’s first-party lineup in 2007, Bonnie Ross founded 343 Industries as a new home for the Halo franchise. Since then, the company has developed a number of titles for the series, including the upcoming Halo Infinite.
In addition to her successes with the Halo franchise, Bonnie Ross is an active advocate for diversity in the games industry. She was named by Fortune on a list of “10 powerful women in video games“, and she uses her position to encourage others to become involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiatives.
The AIAS Hall of Fame Award labels itself as being “reserved for individuals who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games.” Bonnie Ross will be joining prior recipients, such as Todd Howard of Bethesda Game Studios, Hideo Kojima of Kojima Productions, and others when she is inducted early next year.
This post was originally written by Hannah Stewart.
