NEW YORK – DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has joined the board of social gaming giant Zynga, adding a Hollywood player to its group of directors, the company said on Monday.
Katzenberg will join the five current board members – former MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, Bing Gordon, Brad Feld and Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus.
The addition of Katzenberg to the privately held company’s board comes as Zynga has been doing more integrations with film studios, TV networks and music companies as an emerging promotional partner for the entertainment industry. Among others, Zynga did its first-ever feature film integration, a 24-hour campaign on flagship game
FarmVille,
to boost awareness for the release of DWA’s
Megamind.
“Zynga has quickly become one of today’s most innovative and entertaining companies,” said Katzenberg. “I think Mark has an incredible vision for the future of this company and I couldn’t be more excited to become a part of it.”
Katzenberg was recently quoted as saying that if he had to start all over again, he would want to be Pincus, because he created the next big killer app.
Said Pincus: “Jeffrey redefined storytelling when he launched DreamWorks Animation. He turned an independent studio into a brand name and his vision will be an asset as we work to define the future of play.”
In a blog post on Zynga.com, Pincus wrote about the addition, asking: “What do Shrek and FarmVille have in common (besides donkeys and onions)?”
He continued: “Jeffrey and I have been friends for some time, and I knew he’d be a great fit for the board after he suggested that the blockbuster of 2011 could be ShrekVille. I see a lot of similarities between DreamWorks Animation and Zynga, far beyond our love of animals.”
Calling DreamWorks Animation “a revolutionary technology company,” he said Katzenberg will add value to Zynga “as we grow and look for more ways to delight our players.”
Pincus said his first assignment will be finding a seventh board member. “I hear that both Jack Black and Mike Myers are incredibly interested,” he quipped. “I’m looking forward to his guidance, his leadership, and about 1,500 tickets to the opening night of Kung Fu Panda 2.”
