Daily fantasy sports operator PrizePicks announced Monday that Mike Ybarra will be appointed CEO, effective immediately. Ybarra, most recently the president of Blizzard Entertainment, will join PrizePicks’ board and succeed Adam Wexler, the company founder and CEO, who will become executive chairman.
“I am unbelievably proud of what we have built at PrizePicks. Through our culture of constant innovation and having a player-first mindset, PrizePicks has achieved explosive growth,” said Wexler in a statement. “Attracting someone with Mike’s background is a true testament to our legitimacy and success to date, and it is a great honor to partner with him. Mike’s track record of introducing fan favorite games, driving development initiatives and scaling large customer bases will propel us to new heights.”
Since founding PrizePicks in 2017, Wexler has led the company’s transformation from a startup into a daily fantasy sports company with a profitable, rapidly growing business model, according to the company. With over 10 million community members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings, PrizePicks has made daily fantasy sports accessible and has grown under Wexler’s leadership.
“On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank Adam for his tireless contributions as PrizePicks’ founder, building this organization into one of the leading fan engagement platforms from the ground up,” said PrizePicks’ Board of Managers member Jon Hallett. “Under his tenure, PrizePicks has experienced a period of remarkable growth and enters this transition with an incredible amount of momentum and strength. Mike Ybarra is the right leader for the next phase of the company’s journey, and we are pleased that he will be partnering with Adam to unlock future expansion opportunities.”
Ybarra has 25 years of leadership and operational experience in technology and gaming at large, public companies. Most recently, he served as president of Blizzard Entertainment, the storied video game developer that is currently a subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming.
Prior to Blizzard Entertainment, Ybarra spent nearly 20 years at Microsoft as a corporate vice president in leadership roles with the Windows and Xbox divisions.
“I am impressed with the passion, positive energy and incredible team at PrizePicks and want to thank Adam and the board for this opportunity,” Ybarra said. “PrizePicks is the most exciting company in sports entertainment today, and it’s an honor to join as CEO. I have tremendous respect for the foundation that Adam has built and look forward to working with him and the team.”
