Zynga CEO “close to tears” over company troubles

Zynga has had a stunning fall from grace since its meteoric rise on the back of Facebook gaming. Now CEO Mark Pincus is reportedly so distressed by the company’s worsening situation that he was “close to tears” at a recent meeting.

The meeting was set up by company investors, with an objective to make Pincus a better business leader and help turn the flagging company around. The meeting was attended by Apple director Bill Campbell, who has mentored a number of influential members of the industry including Steve Jobs and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

Campbell, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, said Pincus is “discouraged” over the state of his company and was brought close to tears in the discussions.

Zynga has been bleeding key executives recently, with COO John Schappert resigning in August, closely followed by CFO David Wehner who left to join Facebook.

The company has had a horrible year; it was forced to close down its Boston studio, laying off hundred of staff, had publishing giant Electronic Arts file a major lawsuit against them, posted a quarterly loss of $52 million just a day after the Boston closure, and as if that wasn’t enough hacker group Anonymous threatened to disclose confidential information about the company if they didn’t cancel their proposed layoffs.

In a separate Wall Street Journal interview, Pincus attributed the company’s problems to a “rapid change in player habits.”

“Social technologies have dictated fundamental changes at Zynga. And when businesses change, it’s inevitable that some people will choose to leave,” he added.