Matt Calkins Explained

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

Calkins grew up in Mill Valley, California. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1994 with a degree in economics. He then joined MicroStrategy, a business software vendor where he was the director of the Enterprise Product Group.^[5] When he was 26, he left MicroStrategy and co-founded Appian.

In 1999, Calkins co-founded Appian and began building software tools such as an intranet portal for the U.S. Army. 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. Appian later went public in May 2017.^{[6] [7]} As of 2019, Calkins owns just under half of the company which is valued at $2.1 billion.^{[8] [9]} Calkins believes there are different dimensions of AI.^{[10] [11]}

Appian

Calkins left MicroStrategy in 1999 in order to launch Appian Corporation. He was 26 years old. Appian creates low-code software that helps businesses build apps more quickly. 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.

Board gamer

Calkins is well known for designing board games and playing competitively.^[13] He has collected 1,000 games, and has won a number of events at the World Boardgaming Championships.^{[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.^[16]

Calkins created the board games Sekigahara, Tin Goose, Charioteer, and Magnet.^[17]

• Sekigahara: players recreate the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara in Japan
• Tin Goose: players build one of the first commercial airlines
• 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)

Calkins has contributed to The New York Times about the value of board games in business.^[19]

Other involvement

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. Calkins was named to the 2022 Virginia 500: Federal Contractors - Technology.^[22]

War against Ukraine

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

Category:Chief executives in the technology industry

Notes and References

1. Web site: Konrad . Alex . Meet Matt Calkins: Billionaire, Board Game God And Tech's Hidden Disruptor . 2023-07-21 . Forbes . en.
2. Web site: 2019-07-10 . Matt Calkins: World-class board game player-turned-tech firm Appian CEO . 2023-07-21 . NS Business . en-US.
3. Web site: Rogers . Bruce . Matt Calkins Builds Appian As A Platform For Digital Transformation And A Culture Of Shared Values . 2023-07-21 . Forbes . en.
4. Web site: Matt Calkins, Appian Corp: Profile and Biography . 2023-07-21 . Bloomberg.com . en.
5. Web site: 2017-11-09. Matt Calkins Appointed to NVTC Board of Directors. 2020-11-19. WashingtonExec. en-US.
6. Web site: Appian's board is giving its CEO a big potential bonus. He intends to donate it to charity.. 2020-11-19. Washington Business Journal.
7. News: Gregg . Aaron . May 25, 2017 . Appian delivers rare IPO to Washington's tech scene . .
8. Web site: Greater Washington's newest billionaire is a familiar face — and he won't be distracted. 2020-11-19. Washington Business Journal.
9. News: Bondarenko . Veronika . 2022-11-05 . Appian CEO Calkins Reveals Where Company Stands in a Recession . 2023-10-12 . TheStreet . en-us.
10. Web site: 2023-04-21 . 'AI's not ready' to make human decisions, Appian CEO says . 2023-10-12 . Yahoo Finance . en-US.
11. Web site: Bridgwater . Adrian . Appian Advances Low-Code Into New Era Of AI Process Automation . 2023-10-12 . Forbes . en.
12. Web site: Fast-growing Appian reports higher Q3 loss as expenses soar . 2023-08-09 . www.bizjournals.com.
13. Web site: 2010-11-29 . Appian CEO sees games as serious business . 2023-07-21 . Washington Technology . en.
14. Web site: Matthew Calkins . 2023-07-21 . Forbes . en.
15. Web site: Kira . 2022-08-30 . Federal Contractors/Technology: MATT CALKINS . 2023-07-21 . Virginia Business . en-US.
16. Web site: jirehl . 2021-04-29 . Billionaire Beat: Appian CEO Matt Calkins Emphasizes Innovation And Strategy Professionally And Personally The Software Report . 2023-08-03 . en-US.
17. Web site: Matt Calkins Board Game Designer BoardGameGeek . 2023-09-06 . boardgamegeek.com . en-US.
18. Web site: Charioteer . 2023-09-06 . BoardGameGeek . en-US.
19. News: 2013-08-17. What a Board Game Can Teach a C.E.O. (Published 2013). en-US. The New York Times. 2020-11-19.
20. Web site: Kirkland . Rachel . 2017-11-09 . Matt Calkins Appointed to NVTC Board of Directors WashingtonExec . 2023-09-21 . en-US.
21. Web site: vpap.org . 2023-09-21 . The Virginia Public Access Project . en.
22. Web site: Kira . 2022-08-30 . 2022 Virginia 500: Federal Contractors Technology . 2023-09-21 . Virginia Business . en-US.
23. Web site: 2022-04-21 . Banning software sales to Russia a 'case of good and evil:' Appian CEO . 2023-09-21 . Yahoo Finance . en-US.
24. Web site: 2022-04-18 . Appian CEO on banning software sales to Russia: 'This is an obvious case of good and evil' . 2023-10-12 . Yahoo Finance . en-US.
25. Web site: Kira . 2022-08-30 . Federal Contractors/Technology: MATT CALKINS . 2023-10-12 . Virginia Business . en-US.
26. Web site: jirehl . 2022-05-19 . Appian CEO Matt Calkins Urges Tech Firms To Join The Global Protest Of Russia The Software Report . 2023-10-12 . en-US.