Alumni Spotlight: Alex Leary

With a network of more than 10,000 Mods, the pure talent that we have on our roster never ceases to amaze us. Since our inception in 2007, we’ve worked with many of the best and brightest digital wunderkinds in the virtual space. As with any employer, we have to bid adieu to friends from time to time, but we always love to catch up with them to see how they’re doing.

In this Alumni Spotlight, we’ve reconnected with Alex Leary, a former member of ModSquad who’s now a senior producer at The Pokémon Company International. Alex shared his recollections of his work with ModSquad, remembering the projects that helped broaden his skill set and gave him valuable experience that serves him well to this day.

What brought you to ModSquad?

It was 2010 and the times, they were a’ changin!  I found myself recently laid off, with a new baby on the way, and I was looking for great new opportunities to carry me and my family forward. ModSquad was just that.

What was your background prior to ModSquad?

I had spent the ten years prior to ModSquad working my way into the online game industry, starting at what was known then as Verant Interactive, the creators of the original 3D MMORPG hit, EverQuest. Verant went on to become Sony Online Entertainment and is now known as Daybreak Game Company. I started as a game master on EverQuest, providing in-game customer support for players on the Veeshan server. From there, it was up, up, up, working my way into more responsibility. I always found myself at the crossroads of customers, online communities, and game developers. This background was a pretty solid fit with ModSquad, in that their customers were looking to solve issues in online spaces.

How else did working at ModSquad complement your lifestyle?

Being a Mod also allowed me some awesome family time, right when I needed it. My daughter April was born in October 2010. Because I was working from home, I was able to be the parent at home with her, full-time, for the first half-year of her life, while my wife was working a normal 9-to-5 gig.

What did you work on during your years with us?

Working at ModSquad provided me with experience on some great projects. On one, I came in to help address moderation and engagement challenges with the globalization of a very popular Facebook game. Finding multilingual moderators to monitor chat channels in an effort to keep things from getting crazy, all while also keeping players engaged, was a fun challenge.

On another project, I was able to wear a lot of different hats for the client. They were a small, growing game studio. Whatever they needed done, I helped to dig in and find a solution. This included web development, configuring servers, setting up forums, writing copy, creating policy documents, running in-game events, and moderating, to list a few.

What was your key takeaway about ModSquad?

I think ModSquad was, and is, ahead of the times. The workplace is changing. I see more and more people working from home or in an on-demand basis. While working at ModSquad I really honed in my skills with working remote teams.  Communication is key. Today’s technology really makes it work.

Gina Miller
Director of People Operations