Overview

Gender

male

Investor Type

Angel

Investor Stage

Seed

Don Mattrick is Chief Executive Officer of Zynga, a social game services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. His mandate is to further the company’s mission of connecting the world through games. As an industry-leading executive in entertainment, games, and consumer products, Mattrick has firmly established himself during a 30-year career as a world-class leader of game, platform, and team development.

Before joining Zynga in 2013, Mattrick, 49, spent six years at Microsoft – the last three as President of the Interactive Entertainment Business. He was responsible for leading the team that grew Microsoft’s Xbox 360 global installed base by 700 percent, to nearly 75 million consoles, and Xbox Live membership from 6 million to nearly 50 million subscribers in 41 countries. During his tenure at Microsoft, Mattrick also oversaw businesses and services focused on consumer products, including PC and mobile interactive entertainment and the groundbreaking Kinect entertainment products; the Kinect was released in November 2010 and set a Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling consumer electronic device in its first 60 days. Mattrick is widely recognized for transforming the Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business from one that was operating at a loss into a sustained and profitable business.

Prior to Microsoft, Mattrick served in several leadership positions at Electronic Arts, most recently as President of Worldwide Studios, in which capacity he oversaw EA's global studios and research & development in several major sites, including Redwood Shores, Calif. (Silicon Valley), Los Angeles, EA Tiburon in Florida, EA Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Montreal, and EA U.K. During his 15-year career at Electronic Arts, Mattrick helped develop and scale the company’s leading global game franchises and brands, including Need for Speed, FIFA, and The Sims.

Mattrick founded his first company, Distinctive Software, at age 17; it was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1991 and subsequently became EA Canada.

Over the years, Mattrick has been broadly recognized for his work in the technology industry. In 2011, he was featured in Fortune Magazine as one of the "Smartest People in Tech,” highlighting his leadership in growing the Xbox business, including the pivotal role he played in driving new consumer innovations such as Kinect; and in May 2012, he was named one of CNN Money’s top 10 “brilliant technology visionaries.”

Raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Mattrick is married with two children. In acknowledgement of his role in building the interactive entertainment business in Canada and the active development of industry links with the University of British Columbia, Mattrick received the UBC Award as an Honorary Fellow from the Sauder School of Business and was awarded the highest honor Simon Fraser University can bestow, the Doctor of Laws. He has served on several public and private boards, including the advisory board for USC School of Cinematic Arts.