Notable business publication BloombergBusiness has published its annual list of the worst company CEOs of 2012, drawing on the knowledge of Professor Sydney Finkelstein.
Finkelstein is a professor at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, and the author of 11 books on various business subjects; so his opinion has merit.
While this is pretty dry reading for gamers, we are a passionate lot and enjoy when someone who abuses our beloved industry is called out for it.
CEO of stricken social gaming giant Zynga, Mark Pincus, made his way on the list this year. The story is best told by Bloomberg.
Mark Pincus, the CEO of Zynga (ZNGA), the mobile gaming company that brought the world Farmville, among other online distractions. Zynga stock is down 75 percent so far this year, and the company is losing top executive talent. Pincus has a fairly illustrious pedigree—he got a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wharton in 1988 and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1993. But Finkelstein says he’s made some rookie mistakes, including hitching his company’s wagon much too securely to Facebook (FB), which Zynga relies on for a big chunk of revenue. And he hardly expressed confidence in the company’s prospects with his move to unload 16 million shares after the IPO lockup period ended. Joe Libonati, a spokesperson for Zynga, declined to comment.
Zynga has been struggling on a number of fronts. With a stock price plummeting, an exodus of employees and studio closures, a souring relationship with Facebook, and a legal battle with EA looming, things aren’t looking great for the once dominant social gaming giant.
Founder, CEO, & Chief Product Officer at Zynga, Mark Pincus
Source: Bloomberg
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