By Sarah E. Needleman
Zynga Inc. founder and Chairman Mark Pincus is taking back the
reins at the troubled mobile-games company, ending Don Mattrick's
less-than-two-year stint as chief executive.
Mr. Pincus's return to the maker of "FarmVille," "Words With
Friends" and other mobile games is effective immediately, the
company said. Mr. Pincus, who owns roughly 10% of Zynga and has
about 60% of voting rights, will receive a salary of $1.
Mr. Mattrick, the former head of Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox gaming
division, resigned as CEO and is leaving the board.
In an interview, Mr. Pincus said the past two years have given
him "enough time to reflect and process" his past performance. "I
can bring a deeper DNA strand and intensity of focus," he said.
Zynga's tale is a case study in what happens to companies that
are heavily dependent on Facebook Inc. as a platform. Zynga was a
dominant player in games on Facebook at a time when the social
network was largely used on PCs. Once people began ditching their
computers, Zynga struggled to adapt to a world where people
primarily used devices and apps.
Mr. Mattrick was brought in July 2013 to jump-start that
transition and to inject strong leadership at the top. Mr. Pincus,
who once sought advice from executive expert Bill Campbell on how
to run a fast-growing company, stepped aside to focus on creative
strategy while Mattrick ran the company.
Since Mr. Mattrick was officially announced as the new CEO,
Zynga shares have slid 5.5%, closing Wednesday at $2.90. In
after-hours trading, the stock fell 10% to $2.60.
Mr. Pincus said he now wants to get back "what differentiated
us."
"While we built this whole new DNA and muscle in mobile, we
weren't able to reinvest and re-establish some of what was our
special sauce," Mr. Pincus said. He added that Zynga is "just in
the beginning phases of launching a whole new slate of mobile
games."
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
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