GameFace: Dan Geoffrey
Global Account Director
Speech Graphics comprises over 50 talented individuals who each drive our company forward through their technological, linguistic, operational, and creative experience.
We want to give a face to the many names who strive to deliver our industry-defining facial animation software.
Dan Geoffrey, our Global Account Director, is the next Speech Graphics player showing their GameFace. His role reloves around helping our clients realize the full potential of our growing suite of audio-driven facial animation tools.
Dan Geoffrey, Global Account Director
What does a typical working day look like for you?
No two days are the same which I love as it keeps things really interesting and exciting.
If I’m not traveling to meet customers or attend a trade show, the day might start early with a meeting with a client or prospect in Asia. It’s then onto our daily team stand up where we talk about our focus for the day, discuss issues or blockers, and support each other, where necessary. The day will then likely be a mixture of further client or prospect calls, work on proposals, contracts, and partnership opportunities. As GAD I get to interact with most of the teams at Speech Graphics so there could be meetings with the creative or technology teams to support a client through a specific problem or challenge, or to provide a demo of our tools.
Finally, the day is often book-ended with a call with either my colleagues or a client in the US.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
That’s a toughie. There are lots of significant deals that I’ve closed in my career but outside of that one of the biggest things was my move from the content marketing industry into the technology sector a few years ago. It opened up a whole new world of opportunity which has ultimately brought me to Speech Graphics.
What’s the first video game you remember playing? What’s your all-time favourite video game?
If arcade games count then the first video game I played was Space Invaders when I was a kid. There was a machine in our local pub so I played when I was taken along by my parents. Bottle of coke, a packet of crisps, and some money for Space Invaders and I was happy. My first experience of gaming at home was playing Centipede on my dad’s Atari 400 home computer. I think it had just 4K of RAM but was mind-blowing for a 7-year-old in 1980.
I’m showing my age (again!) but my all-time favourite video game is a close call between Super Mario Kart and Street Fighter II on the SNES. I daren’t think about the number of hours I spent with friends playing those two games.
What are you currently playing?
We’ve always had consoles in the house but I’ve had a few fallow years whilst my kids have been playing Minecraft, The Sims and Fortnite. Since joining Speech Graphics though I’ve been rediscovering the joy of gaming and visiting titles that I’ve missed over the last few years. I recently finished Call of Duty WWII and am now playing Batman Arkham Knight…and loving it. I’ve also been exploring the world of horror games and am playing House of Ashes from the Dark Pictures anthology. Keen to expand my gaming into other genres though so I am always looking for recommendations.
What are you reading/watching/listening to at the moment?
I’m listening to the audiobook of ‘The Best of Me’ by David Sedaris, a collection of his best stories. I’ll listen regularly to the Adam Buxton and Marc Maron podcasts. Both have fascinating guests and I enjoy their very different interviewing styles. On the music front I’m listening to ‘Turn the car around’, the new album from Gaz Coombes, and on TV I’m in the middle of Pistol, Danny Boyle’s take on the story of the Sex Pistols.
What is your experience of working with Speech Graphics?
I joined Speech Graphics back in August 2022 and it’s been an exciting and enjoyable few months, and I’ve learned a huge amount. I’ve been so impressed by all the team members I’ve met and their passion and dedication to providing the best audio-driven facial animation solutions for our customers is inspiring.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
On the work front, I’m really excited to attend my first GDC in San Francisco. It’ll be great to meet customers and prospects face to face and share all the new features and enhancements that we’re delivering across both SGX and SG Com.
On a personal note, both my wife and I hit the big 5-0 this year as well as celebrating 20 years of marriage. Both milestones are quite an achievement!
