Araksi Sargsyan has many qualities. Pleasant, friendly, sensitive and extremely capable, she speaks five languages: Armenian, English, Georgian, Russian and Spanish. In addition, she has a Master’s Degree in Linguistics. She has also shone (and continues to do so) in the gaming industry. In that sense, last year, The Innovation Group selected her as one of the ‘Emerging Gaming Leaders Under 40.’ In just eight years in the industry, she has achieved an impressive career development. She started in 2013 as a Customer Service representative at BetConstruct, while, in parallel, she continued with her university studies. There she managed, in a short period, to be promoted to Account Manager, where she was in charge of the development of B2B projects around the world. Her job was based in Lima, Peru, recruiting and training customer service operators, account managers and sales managers. Later, Araksi got involved in a B2C project in Kazakhstan. After that, she worked as Business Development Manager for Latin America at Digitain, a renowned iGaming solutions provider. Currently, in line with that path of constant evolution that she has followed, Sargsyan occupies the role of Head of Business Development at DS Virtual Gaming, a global benchmark company in the virtual gaming segment.
HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS AND MODERATE GAMBLING
Regarding her considerations on the sector, Araksi loves its inherent dynamics, whereby everything is constantly changing. “I think that, to a certain extent, we feel like professional athletes who must constantly be training to stay in shape. Working in the gaming industry, we interact with many areas at the same time: corporate, administrative, economic and legal. It is simply impossible to know everyone and everything about all the topics. This work never ends,” she describes. That effervescence is both exhausting and motivating. This is how this executive feels about it, when she affirms: “You fight for a certain goal, you reach it and then a new challenge appears. In addition, our sector is very demanding. You must always monitor its development; check on how all the markets are evolving. What I like the most is that industry representatives are generally friends, and often that friendship maintains beyond work. I am very happy for this interaction. Clients visit me in different countries, and I visit them. Human relationships are above all.”
Another big issue to her is that of responsible gaming. “It is the backbone of our industry. The mental health of the players should always come first. Any game organizer must understand that he/she is responsible for his/her end users. I think there should be a balance between business development and the safety of our operations. Ultimately, we are committed to the fact that we entertain players, we cheer them up in their free time, we provide them with excitement, but all of this should be done in moderation,” she says.
BALANCE AND COMMUNICATION
As a disciplined, efficient and hard-working person, she also tries to evolve in every aspect of her life. “For me, to achieve balance in life is very simple, and it is embodied in the words of the former president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson: ‘I believe a lot in luck. I’ve found that the harder I work, the luckier I get.’ This quote sums up her career and her daily life. “We have to take care of all our relationships: our loved ones, family, friends, and colleagues. When we affect the balance in the direction of one of those spheres, the other necessarily suffers. This is a law of nature. The attitude towards everyone and everything requires energy. It doesn’t matter how busy I’d be; I will always find time to take into account people’s well-being, to support and communicate with others. Each one of us is part of society, and communication is a vital aspect of our existence,” she transmits with calm and conviction.
This clear focus lets her separate business obligations from personal life. Thus, she states: “I try to never take my home chores to my work, and viceversa. Naturally, in some cases, duties require for me to work from home until one in the morning. I never separate from my mobile, but generally I don’t want to bother my family members with the details of my work.” She has a normal life: she cooks, bakes, cleans, and goes to shopping. She tries to follow a regular routine and dedicate quality time to her family.
READING IS HER FAVORITE HOBBY
By the way, Araksi knows how to find moments to enjoy some personal, free-time activities that help her to relax from work. “Since childhood, books have always been my great passion. I really love literature, authors from ancient times to the present day. When I was very little, my father has the house full with all kinds of books by different authors. My brother and I grew up reading Jules Verne, Astrid Lindgren, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Alexander Dumas, legends and myths of ancient Greece, Rome, and Scandinavia. How many fights we have had over books! Any book is a fantastic universe of knowledge and the best gift one can give or receive,” she highlights. Besides, reading is a great ally and a way to relax to her. She likes to have printed paper books, which is why she admits that it is a difficult task to transport them from one country to another, in order for she can have a small personal library in all of the countries where she has lived in. Of course, books are not her one and only hobby. She cannot imagine her life without music. “I have a classical musical education, so amazing music is always played at home: classical, rock, jazz, blues, disco, pop,” she details.
WOMEN IN GAMING, PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FUTURE GOALS
Araksi does not understand why a distinction between genders has been created in society when considering work skills and possibilities. She thinks true capacities can be found in each person, depending on his/her education, experience, and the mental preparation each one has for his/her job. At this point, she stresses: “The key to professionalism is not gender, but some inherent qualities of a particular person.” About her own experience, she recalls: “During the last ten years, I have collaborated with people from different countries and continents, with diverse points of view. I have never seen a big difference between the task done by women and by men. The passion for work is typical of both, as well as perfectionism, effort, following principles, aspirations for progress, and the concept of honor. Personally, I tend to believe that you have to put your warm heart, your brain and your determination to solve any issue from work, and anyone can do that, no matter if is a man or a woman.”
When we ask her on how other people describe her and what does she thinks about herself, she responds: “I perceive many of those who have just met me consider I’m a kind and caring person. In fact, that’s true, since I am a very attentive person by nature.” At the same time, she remarks that being an older sister and having the sense of responsibility in the formation of her younger brother have marked her character and modulated her personality. “I have a rather tough character when it is necessary to solve certain questions. I really appreciate order and discipline, dedication and determination. I believe that a person can be taught and trained in any matter, but there must be a solid core in him/her. A persona has to know how to overcome obstacles, rise from falling, to be strong and move on. Experience comes with time, but the character of a person does not change,” she says. At this point, she mentions that her parents tell her today that she is a good motivator, which makes her very happy. “It’s nice to think that you’ve had some kind of positive impact on a person who needs for help,” she accepts comfortably.
Regarding the future, Araksi declares: “I am very satisfied with the company where I work at the moment. I anticipate will have a great future forward, and I want to be part of that success. My goal is to bring the company to a leadership position in the industry. This virtual gaming product deserves to be talked about everywhere”. On a personal level, she announces: “I will continue studying, developing, traveling, dreaming, enjoying life. There are many unexplored paths, new sensations, more people to meet. I think it’s quite enough for someone who will just turn 30 this year.”
In one line
A book: “Arch of Triumph” (Erich Maria Remarque, 1945)
A movie: “Inception” (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
Favorite music: classical
A fragrance: I haven’t found any favorite fragrance yet
A place to live: Tbilisi, Georgia, where I was born and where my family is settled
A place for the summer: Kyoto, Japan
A place to eat: my mother’s kitchen
A meal: dark chocolate
A drink: black tea
A sport: soccer
A teacher/mentor: my parents