Suggestions
Umar Khan
Gaming Brand Experience & Innovation Leader | Brand Enthusiast | Story Teller | Gamer | Voice Over Actor
Umar Khan is a seasoned professional in the gaming industry, currently serving as the Lead of Gaming Brand Strategy and Innovation at Dell Technologies.13 He has been with Dell Technologies for over 17 years, taking on his current role in October 2020.1
Professional Background
Umar's expertise lies in gaming marketing, brand experience, and innovation leadership.8 He is based in Round Rock, Texas, and has been instrumental in shaping Dell's gaming-related initiatives, particularly through their Alienware brand.34
Roles and Responsibilities
Community Advocate:: Prior to his current position, Umar served as Alienware's Community Advocate. In this role, he acted as a liaison between customers and the product development teams, ensuring that user feedback was incorporated into the planning and engineering processes.4
Product Management:: Umar has also held positions in product management, specifically as a Senior Product Manager and Portfolio Manager for Gaming Desktops at Dell Technologies.2
Contributions to Gaming Technology
Umar has been involved in various innovative projects at Dell, including:
- Showcasing Alienware notebooks' VR capabilities with the graphics amplifier.567
- Advancing Dell's position in the gaming hardware market through strategic brand development.
- Exploring future trends in gaming technology and user experiences.2
Online Presence
Umar maintains an active professional presence online:
- LinkedIn: His profile can be found under the username umar-khan-481805106.1
- Twitter: He uses the handle @aw_umar, where he describes himself as a "Gaming Marketing, Brand Experience & Innovation Leader" and a "Gaming Enthusiast".8
Through his roles at Dell Technologies and Alienware, Umar Khan has established himself as a key figure in the gaming industry, focusing on brand strategy, innovation, and community engagement.
Highlights
The past year was rough. Retuning my brain and finding value in my professional career. I spent 20 years right out of high school hyper focused on growing myself professionally and learning the ins and outs of every aspect of Alienware to hopefully lead the brand in its entirety. I wanted to become a leader that had insight and executable work across all aspects of the business and could help drive the team with confidence. But times change and so do work cultures.
I’m the kind of person that needs to believe in the mission of a company and project or else I’m just not interested in investing my time. I’m also the kind of person to constantly doubt my abilities and accolades. And with countless resumes going out to roles I found boring, I began to think maybe all my time at Dell gave me untranslatable skills for the very strict in scope roles out there.
In 2024, I decided I’d look for projects that were game changers to the gaming industry and reach out offering my support as a consultant. Not the type of consultant that just talks and advises but executes. Offering my diverse skill set to wherever they needed.
In 5 months, I’ve worked with 4 different gaming companies. I’ve launched 2 incentive programs, established multiple brand charters and conducted targeted audience analysis. I’ve structured communication, community and marketing plans and strategies. I took over leading development on an app and a product and took them to market. I scripted and voiced for 3 different game projects. I’ve run an alpha and beta test. And of course, I’ve offered advisement across all aspects of my clients businesses.
As each contract came to term, all my clients asked me either to be a senior director or on their C-Suite. Nothing really clicked for me to make my next professional mission. However, building that level of confidence with my ability to lead these teams and their organizations was a huge validator when I spent nearly a year thinking I suck because Alienware decided they didn’t need me anymore or that I’m done with the industry.
For those of you struggling to get past resume screenings and feeling low, I definitely encourage you to try consulting. It helps give you a taste for what’s out there while you still throw your resume around. Its great for building new professional connections. It isn’t stable and the success is kind of on your shoulders solely but from my experience, it’s been worth it.
Now as I spend June with my family, I look forward to what July has waiting for me.
After a breather and the conclusion of some satisfying personal projects, I am back in the market and Open For Work. If you're a company looking to focus on the Gaming landscape, working towards the goal of forming or spearheading a future competitive identity for your brand, searching for truly customer focused innovation and products, or a communications expert versed in public speaking and corporate messaging - I am your guy. I bring 20 years of experience focused on the exciting, wildly evolving world of Gaming. #OpenToWork
