Chris DeWolfe

Chris DeWolfe (born 1965 or 1966)[1] is an American technology entrepreneur. He co-founded Myspace in 2003 and was its chief executive officer (CEO) until 2009. DeWolfe has been the CEO of Jam City, a video game developer, since he co-founded it in 2010.

Chris DeWolfe
DeWolfe in 2012
Born1965 or 1966 (age 57–58)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
OccupationCEO of Jam City
Known forCo-founder of Myspace

Early life and education

DeWolfe is a native of Portland, Oregon,[2][3] and went to Lincoln High School.[4] DeWolfe graduated BA from the University of Washington in 1988,[5] then completed an MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business in 1997.[5] He was honored by the school as Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006.[6]

Career

Myspace
Main article: Myspace

DeWolfe conceived Myspace while taking a course titled "The Impact of Tech on Media and Entertainment" during the final year of his MBA program. In the final project for his class, DeWolfe created "Sitegeist", which had elements of Citysearch and Match.com mixed with instant messaging. DeWolfe got an "A" on his project and used it as inspiration in creating Myspace.[7] He co-founded Myspace in 2003.[8]

DeWolfe was involved with the sale of Myspace to News Corporation in 2005 for US$580 million, and remained as its chief executive officer (CEO) until March 2009, at which point Myspace was larger than its competitor, Facebook.[9][10][11] During DeWolfe's tenure, Myspace grew to attract over 135 million worldwide visitors a month.[12] On April 22, 2009, News Corporation announced that DeWolfe would step down as CEO to become a strategic adviser and serve on the board of Myspace China. Former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta replaced him.[13]

Jam City
Main article: Jam City (company)

DeWolfe is a co-founder and the CEO of Jam City, a Los Angeles-based video game developer.[14] The inspiration for Jam City came during DeWolfe’s days at Myspace. In a 2006 trip DeWolfe made to Japan, he met with SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son, where the two discussed gaming and the potential of mobile gaming.[15] The social nature of games and the fast growth of mobile gaming in countries like Japan inspired him to start Jam City.[3] DeWolfe founded Jam City in 2010 with former 20th Century Fox executive Josh Yguado and former Myspace executives Colin Digiaro and Aber Whitcomb when they received backing from Austin Ventures to buy the gaming startup MindJolt.[16] Under DeWolfe's leadership, Jam City has grown to more than 825 employees and nine studios, as of May 2021. Its games, which include Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Cookie Jam, Panda Pop, Disney Emoji Blitz, and Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, have been downloaded 1.3 billion times and Jam City reached a deal to become a public company through a merger with DPCM Capital Inc., with a $1.2 billion valuation.[17]

Accolades

In 2006, DeWolfe was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world.[18] In 2007, he was chosen by Barbara Walters as one of her 10 most fascinating people[19] and he won the Producers Guild of America's Vanguard Award in 2009.[20]

Other roles

DeWolfe is an investor in the travel site Gogobot.[21] He served on the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art[22] and is on the board of directors for Woven Digital.[23]

Personal life

DeWolfe lives in Los Angeles. He has two children.[24]

References
  1. Olsen, Patricia R. (February 21, 2009). "The Boss – My Route to MySpace". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  2. "MySpace cowboys, Chris DeWolfe". Fortune. September 4, 2006. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via CNN Money.
  3. Chaykowski, Kathleen (June 12, 2017). "Former MySpace CEO Makes A Comeback As A Mobile Gaming Hitmaker". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  4. Angwin, Julia (2009). Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6694-0.
  5. "MySpace Cowboys, Chris DeWolfe". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  6. "USC Marshall » Lloyd Greif Center Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year". classic.marshall.usc.edu. 2012. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  7. Kozlowski, Lori (May 15, 2012). "New Life: How Myspace Spawned A Start-Up Ecosystem". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  8. "Jam City CEO Chris DeWolfe Talks Mobile Gaming Strategy—And A 2019 IPO". Fast Company. August 9, 2017. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  9. Arrington, Michael (April 22, 2009). "It's Official: MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe Steps Down". techcrunch.com. TechCrunch. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  10. Schonfeld, Erick (June 25, 2009). "Facebook Finally Catches Up To MySpace In The U.S." techcrunch.com. TechCrunch. Archived from the original on December 6, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  11. "News Corp in $580m internet buy". BBC. BBC News. July 19, 2005. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  12. Szalai, Georg (February 23, 2007). "FIM makes Strategic acquisition". Hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  13. Garrahan, Matthew (October 22, 2009). "MySpace abandons race with Facebook". FT.com. The Financial Times. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  14. Rusli, Evelyn (April 18, 2011). "A Myspace Founder Builds Again, Buying Game Companies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  15. Vendt, Whitney (Winter 2017). "Mobile Media Mastermind". CSQ. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  16. Shanley, Patrick (February 13, 2020). "Former Myspace Mogul Chris DeWolfe Reflects on Mobile Gaming's Future". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  17. Takahashi, Dean (May 20, 2021). "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery publisher Jam City will launch SPAC at $1.2B value, buy Ludia for $175M". GamesBeat. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  18. Foo, Sharin (2013). "Tom Anderson & Chris DeWolfe". time.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  19. "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2007". abcnews.go.com. December 6, 2007. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  20. "PGA to honor MySpace founders". The Associated Press. December 3, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  21. Tweney, Dylan (April 17, 2012). "Gogobot hires SRI scientist to add artificial intelligence to its travel apps". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  22. Wyatt, Edward (March 6, 2007). "Big Corporate Gift Expected for Los Angeles County Museum of Art". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  23. "Former Myspace CEO Joins Woven Digital Board (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. November 12, 2015. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  24. "Chris DeWolfe: His Space at the Top". CSQ. April 19, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.

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