Owen Van Natta

Owen Thomas Van Natta[3] (born November 12, 1969)[4] is an American businessman who has found success in a variety of tech spaces, including e-tail, social networking, music streaming, gaming, finance and investment. He has held notable positions in various tech companies, including Amazon.com, Facebook, Myspace, BOKU Mobile Payments,[5] and Zynga.[6] Van Natta holds a bachelor's degree in English and American literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz.[7]

Owen Van Natta
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Cruz (BA, English and American literature, 1992)[1]
OccupationFounder, Managing Partner at 415, LLC[2] Founder, Managing Partner at Prefix Capital
Known forFormer COO at Facebook
Former CEO at MySpace
Former Executive Vice President of Business at Zynga
Websitehttp://www.415.com

He is a fixture at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, an annual gathering of business leaders, political figures, and major figures in the philanthropic and cultural spheres.[8]

Van Natta is currently a Founder and Managing Director of Prefix Capital,[9] as well as a Founder of 415, LLC.[10][2]

Van Natta married Jennifer Van Natta in 1998 and had two children together.[11] The couple divorced in August 2019. [12]

Career

From June 1998 to August 2005, Van Natta was Vice President of Worldwide Business and Corporate Development at Amazon.com, where he managed global marketing programs and strategic partnerships during the period where Amazon was laying the groundwork for the company's historic growth in market capitalization.[13] He was part of the founding team of A9.com, the Amazon.com search engine optimization company, and was responsible for site operations and sponsored-link advertising.[14]

Van Natta became the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, where he focused on revenue operations, business development, and strategic partnerships from September 2005 to February 2008.[15] At the time of his departure, his title was Chief Revenue Officer.[16] He went on to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Project Playlist in 2008, a music sharing website allowing users to search for music, create custom playlists, and share the content with friends.[17]

In April 2009, Van Natta became Chief Executive Officer of MySpace, where he was responsible for all aspects of the company's strategic vision and the execution of its global business initiatives.[18] Van Natta created new features as a part of his refocusing of strategy, and tried to move MySpace from a social networking platform to an entertainment content distribution platform.[19] By the end of 2009, NewsCorp's Fox Interactive Media business posted revenue of $226 million and profits of $7 million, the vast majority of it from MySpace.[20] After spending ten months in his position, he stepped down and joined Zynga in February 2010.[21][22][23][24][25]

Van Natta joined Zynga, an tech company that makes online social games, as Executive Vice President of Business and as a member of the Board of Directors in August 2010.[26] He was responsible for the company's revenue strategy, corporate development, international expansion and brand. He resigned from Zynga on November 17, 2011.[27][28][29]

In 2013, Van Natta founded 415 LLC, which provides seed funding for and advises (primarily early-stage) companies. 415 assists in the areas of strategy, funding, deals/partnerships, social, e- and m-commerce, operations, user acquisition/engagement, culture and growth.[30]

He is currently a Founder and Managing Director of Prefix Capital,[9] an early stage investment fund that was founded in 2019.[31]

References
  1. Thomas, Owen (April 24, 2009). "MySpace Job Is Sweet Revenge for Ex-Facebook Exec". gawker.com. Gawker. Retrieved September 15, 2016. ... his 1992 graduation from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a BA in English and American literature and his 1998 arrival at Amazon.
  2. "Docusign co-founder raises $8.6M for new business intelligence startup MetaBrite". Geek Wire. February 11, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  3. Who's Who in America. 64th edition, 2010
  4. "The SeeMe.com Blog » Come see us ! XoXo <3". Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  5. EquityNet. "BOKU". EquityNet. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  6. Shaw, Lucas (November 17, 2011). "Zynga executive Owen Van Natta resigns". Reuters. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  7. Arrington, Michael. "Hiring Of New MySpace CEO Settles Many Old Scores". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  8. "Owen Van Natta Photos Photos: Annual Allen And Co. Meeting In Sun Valley Draws CEO's And Business Leaders To The Mountain Resort Town". Zimbio. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  9. "Prefix Capital". Prefix Capital. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  10. "415 - Crunchbase Investor Profile & Investments". Crunchbase. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  11. "Exploratorium Board Bios" (PDF).
  12. "Case Info". webapps.sftc.org. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  13. Molla, Rani (May 15, 2017). "Amazon's epic 20-year run as a public company, explained in five charts". Vox. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  14. Robischon, Noah (April 23, 2009). "Former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta Taking Over at MySpace". FastCompany.
  15. "Owen Van Natta to Leave Facebook". allthingsd.com. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  16. "Ex-Facebook exec takes helm at Project Playlist". cnet.com. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  17. "Project Playlist hires Owen Van Natta and raises $20M, but for what?". Venture Beat. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  18. Arrington, Michael. "News Corp Pulls The Trigger: Owen Van Natta Now Runs The Circus. Err, MySpace". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  19. Barnett, Emma. "Owen Van Natta: superman builds platform for MySpace success". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  20. Steel, Emily; Ovide, Shira. "Van Natta Named MySpace Chief". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 15, 2016. (subscription required)
  21. "Former Myspace CEO Owen Van Natta now former Zynga executive". engadget.com. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  22. Kincaid, Jason. "MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta Steps Down". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  23. "After 10 Months as MySpace CEO, Owen Van Natta Out". thewrap.com. February 10, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  24. "MySpace chief executive Owen Van Natta leaves after less than a year". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  25. Copeland, Michael. "MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta steps down - Feb. 11, 2010". Fortune.com. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  26. KerryOnWorld August 2010
  27. "Zynga executive Owen Van Natta resigns". Reuters. November 17, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  28. Raice, Shayndi (November 19, 2011). "Zynga Executive Van Natta Resigns". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  29. "Former MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta Leaves Zynga Executive Role". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  30. "415 - Crunchbase Investor Profile & Investments". Crunchbase. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  31. "Prefix Capital - Crunchbase Investor Profile & Investments". Crunchbase. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
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