It is perhaps the best-known mobile game out there: Candy Crush. Everyone knows someone who's addicted to it, as something about the easy-to-play tile-matching game is utterly irresistible.

Over 255 million users play it, but few if any will know of the man behind the game. His name is Riccardo Zacconi, an Italian entrepreneur, who with a handful of others created the global sensation in 2012.

Born on May 11, 1967, in Rome, Italy, Mr Zacconi graduated with a degree in Economics from Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli in 1993. ​

His professional journey began in a field world's away from the bright lights of Candy Crush: he worked in management consulting, with significant roles at LEK Consulting and Boston Consulting Group.

In 1999, during the dot-com boom, he joined the Swedish online messaging startup Spray, which was later acquired by Lycos Europe in 2000. Following this, he served as Vice President of European Sales and Marketing at uDate until its merger with Match.com. ​

Then, in 2003, Mr Zacconi co-founded King in Stockholm, Sweden, alongside Toby Rowland, Mel Morris, Thomas Hartwig, Sebastian Knutsson, Lars Markgren, and Patrik Stymne.

The company initially focused on browser-based games but pivoted to social and mobile gaming, leading to the creation of Candy Crush Saga nine years after King's inception. ​