Zynga undergoes executive reshuffle as CFO departs
Four employees promoted in executive shake-up as CFO David Wehner leaves for a new role at Facebook.
Zynga has announced a series of changes to its executive team, with chief financial officer David Wehner departing for what is described as “a senior finance position” at Facebook.
Wehner will be replaced as CFO by Mark Vranesh, currently chief accounting officer, who returns to the role which he held from May 2008 to August 2010. Previously Vranesh served as vice president of finance and administration, and corporate controller, of network security business Fortinet.
Among the other executives to take on new roles are chief mobile officer David Ko, who replaces John Schappert as Zynga’s COO (a position he was originally rumoured to be taking on in August this year). Barry Cottle has been promoted from executive vice president of business and corporate development to chief revenue officer “ a role previously held by Jeff Karp prior to his departure “ and Steven Chiang becomes president of games, having formerly held the title of executive vice president of games.
Commenting on David Wehner’s departure, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus revealed the departure was amicable, saying: “Dave remains a good friend to us all and we wish him success in his next role.”
Moving on to comment on his new team, Pincus added: “Mark, David, Barry and Steve are rooted in our culture, committed to our future and part of the talented bench of leadership atZynga. I’m confident we have the right team to deliver on our mission of connecting the world through games and position us for long-term growth.”
“I have greatly enjoyed working closely with Mark Pincus and the rest of the team,” David Wehner said following his departure. “The time I spent at Zynga has been an exciting chapter in my career as we led the rapid development of social gaming. Mark Vranesh and I have been close partners during my tenure at Zynga and I wish my colleagues well as the company continues to deliver on its vision.”
In his new role, Ko will take on Schappert’s old duties, including strategy planning international operations and infrastructure. It remains unclear how he will work with Maytal Ginzburg Olsha, who was hired to oversee Zynga’s real-money gambling launch in partnership with bwin.party, as the company release announcing the reshuffle lists real money gambling among new chief revenue officer Barry Cottle’s core duties.
Update: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Wehner’s official title at Facebook will be VP, Corporate Finance & Business Planning, and that he will report directly to the social network’s CFO David Ebersman.
Zynga’s restructured executive management team:
Mark Pincus, Chief executive officer “ Founder
Barry Cottle, Chief revenue officer “ Joined January 2012
Cadir Lee, Chief technology officer “ Joined December 2008
Colleen McCreary, Chief people officer “ Joined March 2009
Mark Vranesh, Chief financial officer “ Joined May 2008
David Ko, Chief operating officer “ Joined November 2010
Reggie Davis, General counsel “ Joined May 2009
Steve Chiang, President of games “ Joined March 2010
This article originally appeared on eGaming Review’s sister publication, Social Casino Intelligence.