People news 16/08/12
A round up of industry moves from the last week (10 August to 16 August 2012).
COO Schappert leaves Zynga
John Schappert departs social gaming giant after responsibility for product development taken over by Mark Pincus “ company claims no disagreement over any matters.
Zynga’s chief operating officer John Schappert has resigned from his role and stepped down from the social gaming operator’s board, just over a week after responsibility for product development was taken from him by CEO Mark Pincus.
In a statement, Zynga announced: “Mr. Schappert’s resignation from the Board was not tendered in connection with any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.
“The Company noted that Mr. Schappert has made significant contributions to the games industry throughout his career and it appreciates all that he has done for the Company. The Company further noted that Mr. Schappert leaves as a friend of the Company and it wishes him all the best,” the statement read.
Schappert’s resignation, effective immediately, takes place after it was announced that executive vice president of games Steve Chiang and head of mobile operations David Ko would report directly to Pincus, thought to be part of an attempt to reverse a startling decline in the company’s fortunes. Zynga’s share price has fallen from a high of US$14.69 in March this year to as low as $2.7, before recovering to its current rate of $2.95 “ a decline of around 80%.
Seven days in people news:
LCG chairman resigns “as planned”
The chairman of spread betting company London Capital Group has resigned with immediate effect and has already been replaced “as planned”, the company announced to the stock market this morning.
LCG said sixty-four year Richard Davey was to leave the company after five years at the helm but failed to give any reasons for his sudden departure. Giles Vardey, who was appointed as a non executive director of the company in May will succeed Davey as non executive chairman of the board from 10 August 2012 “as planned”, it said in a short statement without giving any further details.
“The board would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard for all his hard work and efforts over the past five years and to welcome Giles into his new role.”
Two senior marketing hires for Paddys
BSkyB marketing strategy director Danny Russell is one of two new senior marketing appointments made by Paddy Power, joining the Irish firm as insight director.
He is joined by former Domino’s Germany sales and marketing director, who will take up the role of brand director with the Power 50 operator.
Auld has previously also held marketing positions with Carlsberg-Tetley UK and Whitworths Ltd, while before joining BSkyB Russell had served as planning manager for British Airways.
Mr Green appoints new legal counsel
Online casino operator Mr Green has appointed Matti Metsola as its new in-house legal counsel at its headquarters in Malta.
Metsola, a Finnish lawyer specialising in regulatory markets, has previously worked as an in-house lawyer for Unibet at the operator’s headquarters in London. He joins Mr Green from Applex Attorneys where he spent just over a year as a senior associate.
Commenting on his appointment Metsola said: “I’m thrilled to join the industry again and in particular about the opportunity to work with Mr Green. Mr Green has rapidly established itself as a major player in its key markets. I believe that the focus on the softer sides like player protection and transparency towards the customers has been a big part of making Mr Green a popular online casino.”
Mobile gaming specialist Jack Sangster is looking for new industry opportunities in Australia after ending his tenure with Centrebet. Formerly Sporting Index mobile product manager, Sangster joined the Australian operator in March 2011, months before it was acquired by Sportingbet, and was involved in the launch of its native iPhone app.
Swedish poker player Victor ‘Isildur1’ Blom is no longer a PokerStars team pro after both parties agreed not to renew his contract. The high-stakes player, who won more than US$1.2m at a high-roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas in January this year, began representing the operator in January 2011.