Bing Gordon

{{Infobox person

| name = Bing Gordon

| image = BingGordonJI1.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Gordon in 2009

| birth_date = 1950?

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Partner at
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers

| spouse = Debra Gordon (née Radabaugh)

|education =

|alma_mater = Cranbrook School
Yale University (BA)
Stanford University (MBA)

|children = Chloe and Allegra Gordon

|parents = William and Barbara Gordon

|awards = Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award (2011)}}

William "Bing" Gordon is a video game executive and technology venture capitalist. He served ten years as Chief Creative Officer of video game publisher and developer Electronic Arts (EA){{Cite web |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=2015-04-06 |title=VC Bing Gordon reflects on marketing games, hacking growth, and investing in social |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/vc-bing-gordon-reflects-on-marketing-games-hacking-growth-and-investing-in-social/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}} prior to his current partnership with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). He was a founding director of Audible.com and has served on several high-profile Boards of Directors including Amazon, Ngmoco, Duolingo, and Zynga.{{cite web | title = Team Member Bing Gordon | publisher = Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | url = http://www.kpcb.com/team/gordon | access-date = 1 November 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090901201146/http://www.kpcb.com/team/gordon | archive-date = 1 September 2009 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3015056/kleiner-perkins-partner-bing-gordon-linkedin-is-a-game-and-your-job-will-be-g|title=Kleiner Perkins Partner Bing Gordon: LinkedIn Is A Game, And Your Job Will Be Gamified|date=2013-07-31|work=Fast Company|access-date=2017-12-01|language=en-US}}{{cite web | title = Bing Gordon - Board Member | publisher = Duolingo | url=https://investors.duolingo.com/board-member/bing-gordon | access-date = 22 March 2023 }}{{Cite web |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=2011-04-04 |title=DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg Joins Zynga Board |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dreamworks-animation-ceo-jeffrey-katzenberg-174367/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} He designed the video games Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri,{{Cite web |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=2013-02-01 |title=Former chief game designer Brian Reynolds: On Zynga, games, and the future |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/brian-reynolds-on-zynga-games-and-the-future/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}} Sid Meier's SimGolf and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth.

Career

Gordon graduated from Cranbrook School in 1968. He studied drama and literature and earned a BA from Yale University. He moved to the Bay Area where he received an MBA from Stanford in 1978 after acting for a period in New York City.

After working as an account executive at the advertising firm Ogilvy and Mather, Gordon joined EA in 1982 while it was an early-stage start-up, working as a one-person marketing department. As the company grew, Gordon continued to drive marketing strategy and execution. Gordon became more involved on the creative side after a few years, working directly with game teams on concepts, helping to flesh out game designs, and providing feedback on the games as they took shape in development. In 1998 he was named Chief Creative Officer of EA. In 2005, he took a faculty chair position at the University of Southern California's Interactive Media Division after EA invested in the fledgling program. On April 28, 2008 Gordon announced plans to leave EA to join the venture capital KPCB starting June 2008.{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/04/28/bing-gordon-leaves-electronic-arts-to-join-kleiner-perkins/|title=Bing Gordon leaves Electronic Arts to join Kleiner Perkins {{!}} VentureBeat|website=venturebeat.com|date=29 April 2008 |language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-01}}

Gordon joined the Amazon Board of Directors in 2003 and resigned in 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/amazoncom-moves-gordon/moves-long-time-amazon-director-bing-gordon-steps-down-from-board-idUSL2N1GU22S|title=MOVES-Long-time Amazon director Bing Gordon steps down from board|date=17 March 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-12-01}}

Awards

Gordon was the recipient of the 2011 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award.{{cite web | title = Special Awards | publisher = Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences | url = http://www.interactive.org/special_awards/index.asp | access-date = 12 February 2011}}{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2011/01/14/bing-gordons-two-careers-in-gaming-earn-him-a-lifetime-achievement-award-exclusive-interview/|title=With latest accolade, the future is Bing Gordon's game (exclusive interview) {{!}} GamesBeat|website=venturebeat.com|date=14 January 2011 |language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-01}}

References

External links

[http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,11/ Bing Gordon] at MobyGames
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28071-2004Oct12.html "He's Got Games"], a Bing Gordon profile from The Washington Post

Category:Cranbrook Educational Community alumni

Category:Electronic Arts employees

Category:Living people

Category:Ngmoco

Category:Yale University alumni

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Amazon (company) people

Category:American video game designers

Category:Kleiner Perkins people

Category:American video game businesspeople

Category:Zynga people

Category:American venture capitalists

Category:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award recipients

Category:Stanford University alumni