Pete Fenlon
CEO / Head, CATAN Studio
CEO/Head, CATAN Studio
Board, Asmodee North America, Inc.
Publisher of English-language CATAN games 1997–2022
Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. is CEO of CATAN Studio, an independent content and brand development unit with the Asmodee Group. Born in Japan and blessed with a vagabond military childhood, he grew up active in sports and all forms of gaming. He is a 1977 graduate of the University of Virginia and completed his JD at William & Mary Law School (America’s oldest law school) in 1982. Rather than practicing law, he became a full-time entrepreneur and game publisher. He has since founded and/or run four game companies.
While based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Pete now serves on the board of Asmodee North America, Inc. His mission is to entertain, educate and foster curiosity through the development of great games rooted in fine storytelling.
His CATAN Studio publishes the CATAN, one of the world’s preeminent board games, as well as a host of other premium games and expansions. With over 35 million products sold in 40+ languages, CATAN is one of Asmodee’s key brands. Other Asmodee pillars include Ticket to Ride, Dobble (Spot It!), Azul, Carcasonne, Exploding Kittens, and Pandemic.
Pete’s first major game design was a role playing game (RPG) called Rolemaster, which grew out of his 1975-80 RPG campaign. His players—notably S. Coleman Charlton, Kurt Fischer, Terry Amthor, his now-wife Olivia Johnston—helped drive the multi-year design and development process.
Pete founded his first game company, ICE, while attending law school in 1980. He was joined by Coleman, Kurt, Terry, and Olivia, as well as Rick Britton, Bruce Shelley, and a few other others. During the next 2 decades, ICE published ground-breaking adventure games (e.g., Middle-earth, Narnia, Sherlock Holmes, Rolemaster, Champions, other “Hero Games,” etc.), many of which influenced the development of the broader entertainment industry. ICE bought Mayfair Games in 1997 in order to acquire the global English-language rights to CATAN.
In 2000-01, Jordan Weisman recruited Pete to co-create the world’s first viable alternate reality game (ARG). Later nicknamed “The Beast,” this immersive, hive-driven mystery game played out over a wide array of media platforms to promote Steven Spielberg’s science fiction movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. Jordan, Pete, Sean Stewart, and Elan Lee served as The Beast’s four Puppetmasters. The Beast won a Peabody Award in 2022 for Transmedia Storytelling.
Pete cofounded Castle Hill Studios, LLC, an entertainment software development firm, at the end of 2001. Castle Hill explored ARG tool development, as well as massively multi-player online RPG design.
While already Chairman of Mayfair Games, Pete took over as CEO in 2007. He drove CATAN brand development thereafter. Asmodee acquired Mayfair Games and its Lookout Games affiliate in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Asmodee became part of the Embracer Group in early 2022.
An Eagle Scout, Pete has invested ≈20 years as an adult Scouter serving young women and men. He currently serves as Past President of the Virginia Headwaters Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In his spare time, Pete co-created of one of Scouting’s most recent merit badges: Game Design.
Pete is an avid outdoorsman, spending time in the backcountry on 4 continents. He’s backpacked on the AT, Continental Divide, and Pacific Crest Trails. He’s completed the Albion Wilderness and National Outdoor Leader Training programs. He’s rowed the Colorado River through entire Grand Canyon and rafted the wild Gauley.
Together with 9 CATAN compatriots—including his wife Olivia—Pete was part of a Team CATAN that drove moto-rickshaws 3000 km across India to raise money for Cool Earth and the ChildAid Network. The CATAN crew also supports the Global Crop Diversity Trust. In developing CATAN – Crop Trust, Pete has made 2 trips to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault at 78 degrees 15 minutes North. Like everyone in the CATAN family, he believes in giving back whenever and wherever he can.