Katzenberg will become Zynga’s sixth board member, joining LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Kleiner Perkins partner Bing Gordon, investor Brad Feld, Zynga COO (and former MySpace/Facebook exec) Owen Van Natta, and Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus. Zynga, the company that created FarmVille, CityVille and other hit social games, has a valuation exceeding $10 billion.
“I see a lot of similarities between DreamWorks Animation and Zynga, far beyond our love of animals,” Mark Pincus said on the company’s blog. “DreamWorks Animation is a revolutionary technology company, a recognized consumer brand, and at its core, a media company. It's easy to see the value that Jeffrey will add t o Zynga as we grow and look for more ways to delight our players.”
Katzenberg has a long history in the filmmaking and media world. He was president of production at Paramount before heading Disney’s various motion picture divisions, responsible for hits such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. He co-founded DreamWorks in 1994 with David Geffen and Steven Spielberg.
His expertise and connections in Hollywood should prove valuable to Zynga as it expands from its social gaming roots into mainstream media, its most recent foray being a tie-in between Mafia Wars and Sony Picture’s The Green Hornet. Zynga worked with DreamWorks last year for a tie-in to promote Megamind.
Images courtesy of david_shankbone via Flickr
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