 | This articlecontainspromotional content. Please helpimprove it by removingpromotional language and inappropriateexternal links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from aneutral point of view.(December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Don Mattrick | |
|---|---|
 Mattrick in 2010 | |
| Born | Donald Allan Mattrick (1964-02-13)February 13, 1964 (age 61)[1] Vancouver, Canada |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Known for | Former CEO ofZynga |
Donald Allan MattrickOBC (born February 13, 1964) is a Canadian businessman who co-foundedDistinctive Software (DSI) in 1982 in Vancouver at age 17, while graduating from high school and attendingSimon Fraser University where he studied business and managerial economics. DSI became the largest independent game developer in North America and was then acquired byElectronic Arts in 1991 who renamed it toEA Vancouver and later EA Canada. Mattrick worked atEA Canada for 15 years as the president of Worldwide Studios.[2] In 2007, he joinedMicrosoft as the president of the Interactive Entertainment Business, famous for developingKinect for Xbox 360.[3] From 2013 to 2015, he then became the CEO of publicly trading social gaming companyZynga.[4]
In 1982, Mattrick and Jeff Sember co-foundedDistinctive Software (DSI), creating the video gameEvolution on theApple II. Sember sold his equity stake in DSI to Mattrick in 1986.Paul Lee joined the board in the same year. In 1989, Paul Lee invested in DSI, becoming the only other shareholder, also taking on a full-time operating role as both theCFO andCOO. In 1991, Mattrick was the chairman and the majority owner of DSI while Canadian businessmanTarrnie Williams was CEO. In the prior year, DSI had received two unsolicited acquisition offers. Instead of accepting, Mattrick chose to reach out toTrip Hawkins, founder ofElectronic Arts, to discuss synergies between the two companies, leading to the subsequent acquisition of DSI by Electronic Arts (EA) which was accomplished through a pooling of interest transaction in July 1991. Prior to the acquisition, DSI was the largest independent game developer in North America and had 75 full-time employees working on various projects with companies likeKonami,Broderbund,IBM,Disney,Mindscape andAccolade.[5] DSI was best known for developing racing and sports games for the Amiga, Apple II, Commodore 64, and PC DOS platforms.[6]
Mattrick worked in a variety of leadership positions at Electronic Arts and, prior to leaving the company in 2005,[7] was the president of Worldwide Studios for Electronic Arts where he oversaw EA's global studios and research and development in several major sites, including Redwood Shores, California (Silicon Valley), EALA in Los Angeles,EA Tiburon in Florida,EA Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Montreal, andEA UK in Chertsey, England.
Following his retirement from Electronic Arts in February 2007, Mattrick was asked byRobert J. Bach to be an external advisor to the Entertainment and Devices Division. In July 2007, Mattrick officially joinedMicrosoft as a senior vice president overseeing the Xbox 360 and PC gaming businesses,[8] with his oversight apparently leading to an increase in video game installations and Xbox LIVE subscriptions.[9][10]
Mattrick is also largely credited for his work in developingKinect for Xbox 360. Mattrick unveiled Kinect under the code-name of "Project Natal" atE3 2009 on stage withSteven Spielberg.[11][12]
In October 2010, Mattrick was promoted to president of the Interactive Entertainment Business, overseeing a range of consumer businesses including Xbox 360,Xbox LIVE,Kinect, Music, and Video, as well as PC and mobile interactive entertainment.
In August 2011,Fortune magazine named Mattrick one of the "Smartest People in Tech 2011", and cited his role in developing and releasing Kinect.[13] In May 2012, Mattrick was named one of CNN Money's top 10 brilliant technology visionaries.[14]
On May 21, 2013, Mattrick unveiled the newXbox One, the successor to the Xbox 360, an all-in-one entertainment system. He later dismissed criticisms of the system's "always on" internet connection by saying "We have a product for people who aren't able to get some form of connectivity; it's calledXbox 360."[15]
Mattrick left Microsoft on July 1, 2013, to joinZynga as CEO and would eventually be replaced byPhil Spencer as Head of Xbox in 2014.[16][17]
InPower On: The Story of Xbox, aweb series documentary onXbox released in December 2021, Mattrick commented on theXbox One's controversial and unpopular launch strategy, admitting that the Xbox One reveal event was too focused on TV features and that he and his team "could have done a better job of reassuring people that we were committed to excellence in gaming."[18]
On July 1, 2013, it was confirmed that Mattrick was leavingMicrosoft to join social game companyZynga as CEO.[19] Wall Street investors thought positively of Mattrick's appointment[20] and Zynga's shares greatly rose the day the news was made public.[21] On his first quarterly financial earnings call with Zynga, on July 25, 2013, Mattrick predicted volatility for the company over the coming 6 months to one year, stating a need to "get back to basics" and "take a longer term view on our products and business."[22]
By 2015, Zynga was struggling to achieve the success in the mobile market they intended, largely seen in their falling and stagnating stock price.[23] On April 8, 2015, it was announced that Mattrick would immediately resign as Zynga's CEO, and was replaced by founderMark Pincus. Regarding Mattrick, Pincus said, "He got us in the game in mobile in a big way, and I'm appreciative of that."[24]
Mattrick is the co-founder and co-president ofMdGB Capital, a private company that manages a group assets and operating companies throughout North America and serves as an adviser to many high tech ventures such as Photonic, Nordeus,Dapper Labs and Hivestack.
Mattrick was made a member of theOrder of British Columbia in 2024.[25] He is the 2017 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Gustavson School of Business at theUniversity of Victoria,[26] the 2005 Honorary FellowUniversity of British Columbia'sSauder School of Business[27] and a 1999 honorary Doctor of Laws atSimon Fraser University.[28] Mattrick was the Co-Chair of theBritish Columbia's Premier's Technology Council from 2016 to 2018[29] and serves since 2019 on the board of directors of theVancouver Prostate Centre.[30]
| Employees |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studios |
| ||||||
| Franchises | |||||||
| Technology |
| ||||||
