Profile: Mark Jung
December 16, 2003
Mark Jung
Age: 42
Title: President and CEO, IGN.com
Office location: Brisbane, Calif.
Ethnicity: Chinese American
Birthplace: Toronto, Canada
Favorite Game of All Time: Halo
With the Dec. 4 announcement of the merger between two of the top three video game websites in the United States, IGN.com and Gamespy.com, 42-year-old CEO Mark Jung is encountering the pinnacle of his career. Together, IGN and GameSpy attract the Internet’s largest gaming audience, with 673 million page views per month and more than 22 million unique visitors per month.
Jung, whose father owned his own architecture firm, says, “Growing up, I watched the trials and tribulations of the business and what it means to continue and push for success. My mom, was the one that pushed us the hardest. She believed that if you have a talent, you should push it.”
Jung grew up in the suburbs of Wesling, Mass., and moved to the Bay Area for its hi-tech innovation. “Silicon Valley was a new world that opened up a faster, more aggressive world,” he says, “and the gaming industry is busy, extremely fast-paced and constantly moving, with lots of product, new technology, brands and titles.”
Jung founded IGN with Chris Anderson five years ago as a by-product of Imagine Media, a magazine publisher. Though Jung has encountered his share of potholes along the way, IGN has come out on top and is now ranked as one of the top three video game websites in the United States, along with GameSpy.com and GameSpot.com. “We survived the Internet downturn,” says Jung about one of his greatest achievements at IGN. “Despite the cutbacks and layoffs, we had to try and maintain employee loyalty and branding.”
While “merger” usually means consolidation, along with cutbacks and layoffs, Jung and Mark Surfas, founder and chairman of GameSpy.com, have a different take on its meaning. They plan to retain the identities of each of the sites to offer the broadest range of news and information. “I see it — as a great opportunity — We’re very complementary,” says Jung about the merger of the two companies. “We take pride in what we do, and there’s no half way. I believe people should leverage the skills they are given, and my job is to encourage and provide them with an environment that fosters growth; we are not top-down autonomous.”
Jung’s business accomplishments reflect his family’s philosophy of valuing dedication and persistence. “Many people wonder how we ended up having two CEOs in the family,” says Jung, who’s sister Andrea, is the CEO of Avon cosmetics. “My philosophy is that you have to understand what tools your family or parents give you and how you apply it to your profession.
“It’s characteristic of Chinese families that certain things you never give up: perseverance and staying positive. There was always pressure to improve where areas can be improved,” he says.
Jung routinely applies his family values to his business. “You can’t take individual credit. It’s always about the family, it’s about emphasizing the big picture and focusing not on me, but always on we,” he says. “It’s important to be recognized not just by yourself, but by the bigger accomplishments and work done by people who work around you.”
Comments
Got something to say?