What EA, Atari, and Supercell Taught David Gardner About Executive Leadership
May 14, 2026
In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton are joined by David Gardner, a General Partner at London Venture Partners, who opens up about the lessons that shaped his four-decade career, from joining EA at just 17 years old to navigating a public company turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis.
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If you’re building your leadership team or considering your next move to the C-suite, connect with Gerard Miles or Dan Hampton on LinkedIn, or visit missionone.io/contact-us.
In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, Gerard Miles and Dan Hampton are joined by David Gardner, a General Partner at London Venture Partners, who opens up about the lessons that shaped his four-decade career, from joining EA at just 17 years old to navigating a public company turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis.
What You’ll Learn
What You’ll Learn
- How to fire your highest performer without destroying trust
- Why failure is your greatest accelerator for growth
- How to spot founders with grit over charisma
- The evolution from CEO urgency to board-level risk governance
- Why transparency without wisdom is dangerous
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FAQs
Q: What was the biggest lesson David learned from his time as CEO of Atari?
A: You can’t apply a big-company playbook to a turnaround. David argues he should have split his team: one group to fight the fire, another to build the future, instead of getting stuck in the old problems.
Q: How does David think about hiring and firing as a leader?
A: Everyone has talent. The question is whether it matches the task. And don’t be afraid to fire for values, even your top performer, because everyone in the organization is watching what you tolerate.
Q: What does David look for when evaluating founders as an investor?
A: Honesty and speed. The best founders, like the Supercell team, are straight shooters who listen to the data and kill what isn’t working instead of clinging to it.
Q: How should aspiring executives think about taking career risks?
A: Take the risk, but prepare for it. Train your brain to respond to crises with a plan rather than panic. That’s the difference between growth and disaster.
Q: What role should a board play in protecting a company's culture?
A: Protect the creative culture that actually drives success and make sure the right people are in the right roles. Without that, companies stop innovating and die.
Episode Resources:
- David Gardner on LinkedIn
- London Venture Partners Website
- Gerard Miles on LinkedIn
- Dan Hampton on LinkedIn
- Mission One: The Executive Edge on Apple Podcasts
- Mission One: The Executive Edge on Spotify
- Mission One: The Executive Edge on YouTube
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