Know More About The New Man Behind Ubisoft Montreal

Ubisoft Entertainment has 20 development studios all over the world, the largest of which is Ubisoft Montreal. With popular titles such as Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, it’s no surprise that the Montreal unit of Ubisoft is well respected by the gaming community. Taking all these into consideration, Ubisoft Montreal is naturally expecting a lot from its newly appointed CEO, Yannis Mallat. But who exactly is this guy whose hands hold the future of 1,400 people employed at Ubisoft Montreal?

Yannis Mallat is not new to the gaming industry. Some gaming fanatics probably know him as the brains behind the two of the biggest titles developed under Ubisoft Montreal, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. His success with the Prince of Persia series has earned him the title of Executive Producer for the whole Prince of Persia franchise. But if you think that Mallat has been working on the gaming world all his life, you’re dead wrong. Yes, Mallat has indeed dreamt of working for the entertainment software industry eversince he was a kid (playing Dungeon Master in his Atari has introduced him to the wonders of the gaming world), but he did not exactly dive into his dream the first chance he got.

More of the post after the jump.

Ubisoft Entertainment has 20 development studios all over the world, the largest of which is Ubisoft Montreal. With popular titles such as Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, it’s no surprise that the Montreal unit of Ubisoft is well respected by the gaming community. Taking all these into consideration, Ubisoft Montreal is naturally expecting a lot from its newly appointed CEO, Yannis Mallat. But who exactly is this guy whose hands hold the future of 1,400 people employed at Ubisoft Montreal?

Yannis Mallat is not new to the gaming industry. Some gaming fanatics probably know him as the brains behind the two of the biggest titles developed under Ubisoft Montreal, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. His success with the Prince of Persia series has earned him the title of Executive Producer for the whole Prince of Persia franchise. But if you think that Mallat has been working on the gaming world all his life, you’re dead wrong. Yes, Mallat has indeed dreamt of working for the entertainment software industry eversince he was a kid (playing Dungeon Master in his Atari has introduced him to the wonders of the gaming world), but he did not exactly dive into his dream the first chance he got.

After graduating with honors from the French Secondary School in Abidjan, he rendered humanitarian services to developing countries in West Africa. He worked at this cause for three years, then he went to Paris’ International Agribusiness Development Management Engineering to earn his Master’s Degree in International Agronomy & Economic Development. After which, he went back to Africa and worked as an NGO setting up rural development projects. What a way to start a career in video game, huh? But Mallat affirms that starting on humanitarian grounds has its benefits – it has helped him develop the skills needed for understanding and managing people, skills that has proven invaluable to his current career.

Right after his NGO stint in Africa, Mallat moved to Montreal, Canada where he received his MBA from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. Now we come to the point where Mallat finally treaded the road to his videogaming dreams. In January 2000, he joined Ubisoft Montreal as a third-party producer and went on to create Rayman Advance and reincarnate the now popular Prince of Persia series. As mentioned, this has escalated Mallat’s position in the company to Executive Producer. Aside from the gaming industry, Mallat has laso tried his hand at the movie business working on titles such as Little Nicky, Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove, and Disney’s Dinosaur.

Now that Mallat has been appointed CEO of Ubisoft Montreal, he’s apparently quite impatient to begin this new challenge. Right now, the new CEO has a “simple” objective for Ubisoft Montreal – make it the number one studio in the world. He’s leaning towards strengthened creativity and innovation to achieve the plan he has for Ubisoft Montreal. Mallat believes that both innovation and creativity will set Ubisoft Montreal products apart from the competition; thus, he’s working to create a production scheme that will foster creativity and innovation while maintaining low risks. It’s a challenge, he says, but a challenge that must nonetheless be taken for him to achieve his goal.

With the advent of the next-gen war, it’s really going to be a big feat trying to stand out amongst all the big video game companies. Thankfully, Yannis Mallat is seemingly up to that challenge. Here’s wishing that his talents usher in good changes for Ubisoft Montreal – because hey, this will not only benefit the company, it will also benefit gaming fans like you and me. Bring it on, Yannis Mallat!

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