More than fun and games

Dan Emerson ’93 has a job that many young people only dream about: he is the executive vice president and chief legal officer at Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., a video game company with some of the most iconic brands in the world, including NBA 2K, Red Dead Redemption, BioShock, Borderlands and Sid Meier’s civilization. In this role, Emerson leads a global legal department of over 50 employees that help Take Two navigate intellectual property, legal and regulatory issues, as well as being a member of the executive management team. 

Since Emerson joined the Take-Two legal team in 2005, he has helped steer the company through a period of tremendous growth. “When I arrived, it was a very young and undisciplined company but with great creative talent,” he explained. “Since then, we’ve established a core tenant of governance that has allowed us to evolve into the most innovative, creative and efficient company in the industry.” 

Today, Take-Two is valued at $20 billion – up from approximately $1 billion when Emerson joined in 2005.  

“In the early days, the company had a start-up mentality with great products, but not a strong corporate governance system in place and not much consistency,” Emerson explained. “As the company grew, the legal department and management team focused on creating a best-in-class culture of corporate governance. This allows the creative talent to focus on what they do best, while the company provides a sound and appropriate structure.” 

Take-Two approaches the creative process differently from many of its competitors, Emerson said. 

“We focus on creating the highest quality content and we give our creative teams a lot of autonomy and independence to pursue what they are passionate about,” he explained. We believe if you have the highest quality game and own your intellectual property, engagement and monetization opportunities will follow.” 

Human Ecology provided a good foundation for teaching you how to think logically and apply that thought process to any challenge. The tools I learned for managing a full workload and juggling various priorities are invaluable today.

Dan Emerson '93

Emerson attended the Syracuse University School of Law, and become a partner of the New York City office of the firm Blank Rome LLP, where one of his clients was Take-Two. After a number of years at the firm, he joined the company as an in-house attorney. 

At the College of Human Ecology, Emerson majored in consumer economics and housing. He says the interdisciplinary education and time management skills he learned at Cornell apply to his job today. 

“Human Ecology provided a good foundation for teaching you how to think logically and apply that thought process to any challenge,” he said. “The tools I learned for managing a full workload and juggling various priorities are invaluable today.” 

Working well with others and building collaborative teams are two of Emerson’s main focuses on the job. 

“Working at a company, sometimes it’s less about your legal skills in any particular discipline and more about your interpersonal skills and judgment,” he explained. “Managing your team, working with leadership, being able to read a room and stay calm and focused — that can be crucial to your success. 

“One of the important parts of creating a successful legal department at an international entertainment company is to hire smart, independent thinkers who take responsibility for their work, are open to learning new things and add value to the business,” he said. 

“Overall, the job is incredibly interesting and rewarding,” he said. “Being a general counsel and being able to work in the video game industry are both great things.”