Matt Calkins
Matt Calkins | |
---|---|
Title | Founder, CEO, Chairman and President of Appian Corporation Board game creator |
Board member of | Appian Corporation, Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), Sorensen Institute and Virginia Public Access Project Council |
Matt Calkins is the co-founder, CEO, chairman, and president of Appian Corporation, and a world champion board gamer.[1][2][3][4]
Early life and career
[edit]Calkins grew up in Mill Valley, California.[1] He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1994 with a degree in economics.[1][3] He then joined MicroStrategy, a business software vendor[1] where he was the director of the Enterprise Product Group.[5] When he was 26, he left MicroStrategy and co-founded Appian.[5]
In 1999, Calkins co-founded Appian and began building software tools such as an intranet portal for the U.S. Army.[1] In 2008, the company raised $8 million, and in 2014, raised $36 million in a secondary offering led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.[1] Appian later went public in May 2017.[1][6][7] As of 2019, Calkins owns just under half of the company which is valued at $2.1 billion.[1][8][9] Calkins believes there are different dimensions of AI.[10][11]
Appian
[edit]Calkins left MicroStrategy in 1999 in order to launch Appian Corporation.[1][2] He was 26 years old.[2][1] Appian creates low-code software that helps businesses build apps more quickly.[1][2][3] It is used by government agencies including the United States Food and Drug Administration, and private companies such as T-Mobile, Bayer, and Exelon Corp.[12] The company went public in 2017 and Calkins owns just under half of it.[1]
Board gamer
[edit]Calkins is well known for designing board games and playing competitively.[13] He has collected 1,000 games,[13] and has won a number of events at the World Boardgaming Championships.[1][2][14][15] His philosophy is that business and gaming have a lot of similarities: business skills can make someone a better game player, and playing games helps to make him a better CEO.[13][16]
Calkins created the board games Sekigahara, Tin Goose, Charioteer, and Magnet.[1][2][17]
- Sekigahara: players recreate the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara in Japan[1][2]
- Tin Goose: players build one of the first commercial airlines[1][2]
- Charioteer: a strategic racing game set in ancient Rome[18]
- Magnet: an “abstract game where players try to get their king to the middle of the board” [8] (runner-up for Games Magazine's Abstract Game of the Year, 2010[13])
Calkins has contributed to The New York Times about the value of board games in business.[19]
Other involvement
[edit]In 2017, Calkins was named to the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) board of directors.[20] He also serves on the leadership council of the Virginia Public Access Project and the board of the Sorensen Institute.[21] He was previously on the board for the NVTC TechPAC.[20] Calkins was named to the 2022 Virginia 500: Federal Contractors - Technology.[22]
War against Ukraine
[edit]Calkins helped the Renew Democracy Initiative to create fight4ukraine.com, a website that tracks the world's response to Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[23] This initiative included banning the sale of software to Russia.[24][25][26]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Konrad, Alex. "Meet Matt Calkins: Billionaire, Board Game God And Tech's Hidden Disruptor". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Matt Calkins: World-class board game player-turned-tech firm Appian CEO". NS Business. 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ a b c Rogers, Bruce. "Matt Calkins Builds Appian As A Platform For Digital Transformation And A Culture Of Shared Values". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ "Matt Calkins, Appian Corp: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ a b "Matt Calkins Appointed to NVTC Board of Directors". WashingtonExec. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
- ^ "Appian's board is giving its CEO a big potential bonus. He intends to donate it to charity". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
- ^ Gregg, Aaron (May 25, 2017). "Appian delivers rare IPO to Washington's tech scene". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Greater Washington's newest billionaire is a familiar face — and he won't be distracted". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
- ^ Bondarenko, Veronika (2022-11-05). "Appian CEO Calkins Reveals Where Company Stands in a Recession". TheStreet. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ "'AI's not ready' to make human decisions, Appian CEO says". Yahoo Finance. 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Bridgwater, Adrian. "Appian Advances Low-Code Into New Era Of AI Process Automation". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ "Fast-growing Appian reports higher Q3 loss as expenses soar". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
- ^ a b c d "Appian CEO sees games as serious business". Washington Technology. 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ "Matthew Calkins". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ Kira (2022-08-30). "Federal Contractors/Technology: MATT CALKINS". Virginia Business. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ jirehl (2021-04-29). "Billionaire Beat: Appian CEO Matt Calkins Emphasizes Innovation And Strategy Professionally And Personally | The Software Report". Retrieved 2023-08-03.
- ^ "Matt Calkins | Board Game Designer | BoardGameGeek". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ "Charioteer". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ "What a Board Game Can Teach a C.E.O. (Published 2013)". The New York Times. 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
- ^ a b Kirkland, Rachel (2017-11-09). "Matt Calkins Appointed to NVTC Board of Directors | WashingtonExec". Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ "vpap.org". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ Kira (2022-08-30). "2022 Virginia 500: Federal Contractors | Technology". Virginia Business. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ "Banning software sales to Russia a 'case of good and evil:' Appian CEO". Yahoo Finance. 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ "Appian CEO on banning software sales to Russia: 'This is an obvious case of good and evil'". Yahoo Finance. 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Kira (2022-08-30). "Federal Contractors/Technology: MATT CALKINS". Virginia Business. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ jirehl (2022-05-19). "Appian CEO Matt Calkins Urges Tech Firms To Join The Global Protest Of Russia | The Software Report". Retrieved 2023-10-12.
Category:Chief executives in the technology industry