Short answers, pulled from the story.
Andrew S. Zucker founded the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in 1991. Zucker was an attorney with no prior experience in video game development who created the first formal organization dedicated to the video game industry.
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences began presenting the Interactive Achievement Awards in 1998. This system allowed game developers to nominate and select winners from among their peers, mirroring the peer-voting structure of the Academy Awards.
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences launched the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2002. Richard Hilleman and Lorne Lanning proposed the convention to generate revenue through industry networking after the Entertainment Software Association withdrew its funding in 2000.
Martin Rae rebranded the awards as the D.I.C.E. Awards for the 2013 summit. Rae took over as president of the Academy in 2012 and implemented changes to modernize the experience and increase the value of the presentations.
Current corporate members of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences include Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Valve. The organization also supports independent studios such as Blind Squirrel Games and GoodbyeWorld Games alongside global giants like Epic Games and Ubisoft.