Carly Taylor

Carly Taylor is VP of Concepts Lab at Crunchyroll (Sony Pictures Entertainment) and one of the most impactful leaders I have had the privilege of working with. During her time at Activision, she built and led a 40+ person AI research organisation — one that was recognised when Activision was named a Fast Company Most Innovative Company in 2024. She holds two non-provisional machine learning patents, has conducted research in collaboration with Stanford, NVIDIA, and Caltech, and brings to every room she enters a rare combination of deep technical rigour and genuine human warmth.

I first crossed paths with Carly during my time at Activision, and she became one of the most meaningful mentors in my career. She did not just open doors — she walked me through them. It was Carly who believed in the work we were doing in AI research and who gave me the platform and the confidence to share it beyond the walls of the company. Because of her encouragement and advocacy, I was able to present at multiple conferences, carrying the AI research coming out of Activision to wider audiences in the industry. That experience of standing on a stage and defending ideas I had worked hard on changed how I see my own voice in this field.

Beyond the conference stages, Carly reshaped the way I think about professional presence entirely. Watching her build a LinkedIn following of over 184,000 data professionals was nothing short of inspiring. She was not just posting for visibility — she was building a community, sharing ideas that mattered, and amplifying the voices of people around her. Seeing the reach she had and the conversations she was able to start made me realise that thoughtful, consistent sharing of what you know and what you believe in is itself a form of leadership. That realisation is what finally pushed me to start posting on LinkedIn myself.

Carly’s influence has extended well beyond Activision. She is an advocate for women in STEM, gaming, and technology, and carries that commitment into every organisation she joins. Her approach to mentorship is to see potential in people before they see it in themselves, and then to give them just enough of a push that the growth feels like their own. That is exactly what she did for me — and I am a better researcher, a better communicator, and a more confident professional because of it.