Ex-Jamdat CEO departs from Electronic Arts to become venture capitalist.
Mitch Lasky, previously the CEO of Jamdat Mobile and most recently the Executive Vice President of Electronic Arts Mobile, left EA to join the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital as a general partner. He will be replaced by EA Mobile Chief Operating Officer, Michael Marchetti, on April 2. Benchmark Capital’s investment portfolio includes a slew of game developers, such as Jamdat, Linden Labs, Red 5 Studios and Codemasters, as well as technology powerhouses eBay and Red Hat.
Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital discussed the qualities Lasky will bring to Benchmark. “Very early we noticed something special about Mitch. Almost perfect execution from the beginning to the $700 million exit. That took an incredible amount of intuition and skill. Mitch makes an incredible impression on people. People respect him and like to work with him.”
With Lasky on hand, Gurley is also confident that the firm will be perfectly suited for continued investments in the game industry. “If you look at what Benchmark has doing in the last few years, we have been doing a lot. … If you look at what Benchmark has doing in the last few years, we have been doing a lot.”
Source: Mercury News
