2025 Winner

Gabrielle Heyman
Vice President, Global Brand Sales & Partnerships, Zynga
The Marketer Connecting With Millennial and Gen X Women Gamers
Even as gaming has exploded in popularity, advertisers still think of their target audience as teenage boys sitting in basements. Gabrielle Heyman is determined to correct that outdated perception. She’s the Vice President of Global Brand Sales & Partnerships at Zynga, a global mobile game developer that’s racked up more than 10 billion downloads with popular games like Words With Friends and Farmville. Zynga’s audience is predominantly millennial and Gen X women, a demographic that is too often ignored by marketers. In her role, Heyman led major ad innovations in 2024, which helped advertisers reach these oft-overlooked gamers, including rewarded video ads that were watched by 92% of players. In recognition of her contributions to the digital advertising industry, Heyman snagged a IAB Service of Excellence Award in 2025. And she continues to champion the advancement of women in gaming and tech — especially by hiring smart, 50+ women to be part of her team.
By Audrey Goodson Kingo