Indu Unni of Electronic Arts

What if the biggest barrier between you and leadership isn’t skill, experience, or readiness—but the moment of hesitation before you ask?

For many women in engineering and technology, the transition from Individual Contributor to Manager is a defining career crossroads. Despite proven expertise and consistent performance, women are less likely to step forward for leadership roles, often waiting to feel “fully ready” while opportunities quietly pass by. This talk explores why that hesitation exists—and how to overcome it.

Using the metaphor of a video-game quest, Level Up: The Quest from IC to Leadership takes audiences on a journey through the hidden mechanics of career progression: visibility, sponsorship, self-advocacy, and confidence. Participants will discover how leadership opportunities are created through conversations, not just competence; how sponsorship differs from mentorship and why it matters; and how to begin practicing leadership long before receiving the title.

Beyond individual advancement, the talk highlights a bigger mission—how increasing women’s representation in leadership transforms workplace culture, expands opportunity, and creates powerful ripple effects for future generations.

Attendees will leave inspired and equipped with practical strategies to make their ambitions visible, activate sponsors, reframe the “ask,” and step into leadership with clarity and courage.

Because leadership isn’t the final level—it’s simply the next quest. And it’s time to press “Start.”

Biography:

Indu is a seasoned technology leader with over 13 years of experience specializing in software design, development and engineering leadership. Indu is currently a Senior Engineering Manager at Electronic Arts, and is instrumental in transforming the UGX landscape for a wide variety of video games and related player experience. She has a proven track record of leveraging cutting-edge tools and methodologies, to ensure efficiency, consistency, and high-quality outcomes.

With a strong background in Software development , Indu is leading and mentoring engineers, enabling them to deliver highly scalable, optimized and performant software as services. Indu holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. Passionate about driving innovation and building resilient software systems, she is dedicated to sharing her insights and empowering teams to excel in the evolving world of technology.