Quick Facts
Biography
Tryon "Tarrnie" M. Williams (born November 11, 1940) is a Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Canada's first publicly traded software company, Sydney Development Corporation formed in 1978. From 1987 to 1991 he was President and CEO of Distinctive Software Inc. of Vancouver and, upon the acquisition of that company by Electronic Arts Inc., North America's largest publisher of interactive software, he became President and CEO of Electronic Arts (Canada) Inc. Mr. Williams has considerable experience in the fields of computer and video games, biotechnology, real estate, and computer technology. He has over 40 years of leading technology ventures to success. Recipient of lifetime achievement award for contributions in technology. Co-founded and led companies to exits of more than $850 million.
Biography
Born in Montreal, Quebec, he traveled to western Canada early in life. He obtained a B.Sc (Mathematics) in 1963 from the University of Alberta subsequent to three years of mechanical engineering at McGill University in Québec. After university he first worked as an actuarial student for Standard Life Insurance Corporation in Montréal followed by two years in sales in the mutual fund industry.
In 1965, Mr. Williams joined the Canadian Corporation for the World Exposition (Expo 67) as a Project Manager responsible for multiple projects in the field of communications and computers. The expertise obtained in completing projects on time and on budget has proven invaluable to Mr. Williams over the years.
He then moved to Vancouver and joined IBM where he worked for 10 years initially in systems design, then sales, then management education and finally in various management roles.
Mr. Williams resigned from IBM in 1978 to found Canada's first public software company, Sydney Development Corporation ("SDC"), initially developing an online real-time project management system for mainframe computers; then various different business applications for mini computers; and eventually becoming the first developer and publisher of computer games for microcomputers in Canada. SDC was the fastest growing public company in Canada in the five-year period 1978 to 1983 with fiscal year 1983 revenues of $21 million (in today's dollars $50 million).
Mr. Williams left SDC at this time, which was the beginning of the biotech industry, to co-found Proteus Bio-Research Corporation to develop a monoclonal antibody to identify the AIDS virus. This project was successful and Proteus joined with Murex (founded by Gwynn Williams - no relative) to form International Murex which was eventually sold to Abbot Laboratories for $234 million.
Subsequent to joining International Murex, in 1987 he returned to Distinctive Software, a spin-off from SDC, as president. Mr. Williams was instrumental in growing Distinctive with Don Mattrick and Paul Lee, prior to it being acquired by, Electronic Arts for $11 million in 1991 (in today's dollars $20 million), and then helping Electronic Arts (Canada) develop into a strong 125-person organization with a mature management team that reported revenue of $31 million (Canadian) in fiscal year 1993. He was the president and CEO of EA (Canada) Ltd. and a member of the seven-man executive team of Electronic Arts in California until 1993 when he was diagnosed with secondary progressive MS and left EA to concentrate on his health.
During the subsequent ten-year period he became an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business as well as mentoring over 25 small businesses in various technologies and life-sciences.
He was a founding director of YM BioSciences in Toronto which was sold to Gilead Sciences in 2013 for $540 million. YM BioSciences commercialized bioscience technology in Cuba and made significant research breakthroughs for Myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow cancer (See Momelotinib and Nimotuzumab). While in Cuba, Mr. Williams was recommended to seek the services of CIREN where they re-channeled the neuropathways with repetitive physiotherapy such that he overcame his partial paralysis. Mr. Williams returned to Cuba for one month every year over ten years and was able to continue his career.
He also co-founded InMedia Corporation, developing digital photography software for digital cameras which became PNI Digital Media and sold to Staples Inc. for $74 million.
In 2001 Mr. Williams rescued Bingo.com Inc. from potential bankruptcy and became its president and CEO until 2011 and now is its Executive Chairman. Effective December 31, 2014 Unibet Group Plc. purchased Bingo.com Ltd.'s www.bingo.com domain name and its real money online gambling business for a total of $8 million.The company was renamed Shoal Games Ltd. and listed on the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange.
Awards and memberships
Mr. Williams is a recipient of the British Columbia DigiBC Lifetime Achievement award for his contributions in pioneering the Video Game industry in Canada. In 1982, Mr. Williams’ company Sydney Development Corp. published "Evolution" the first multi-level computer game, which was created by two teenagers, Don Mattrick and Jeff Sembers as well as publishing several other video games, including other worldwide hits, Quest for Tires and Damn Busters thereby putting the Canadian video game industry on the map and earning him the title, the "Godfather" of BC's gaming industry. In his acceptance speech, Williams gave advice to all the ambitious entrepreneurs – "To be successful, keep at it and believe in yourself".
Mr. Williams was featured in Knights of the New Technology: The Inside Story of Canada's Computer Elite, authored by David Thomas and published by Key Porter Books 1983.
Personal life
Williams is married to his wife, Penelope, and have two children and four grandchildren. Both of their children, Tarrnie Williams Jr., CEO of Blueprint Reality Inc. and Jason Williams, CEO of Shoal Games Ltd. are in the video games industry.