And another one bites the dust at Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), as its chief security officer Nils Puhlmann resigned on Tuesday. He had been with the company since 2009.
A Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) representative would not comment on the news this morning.
Puhlmann joins a number of executives who have recently exited the company. According to Tech Crunch, although he had a “chief” title, he was not a member of the company’s C suite, as he reported to Debra Chrapaty, Zynga’s CIO, who reports to CTO Cadir Lee.
Prior to his tenure with Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Puhlmann was employed in executive-level roles at such software and web firms as Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), Mindjet, and Qualys. Prior to Zynga’s IPO, he had been described by the press as a core member of Zynga’s executive “dream team.”
One source told Tech Crunch’s Colleen Taylor that Puhlmann “was able to build one of the strongest security teams in the San Francisco area, and, in my opinion, the strongest in all of the gaming industry.”
As noted, Puhlmann joins the previous high-level exits from the company, including COO John Schappert, infrastructure CTO Allan Leiwand, chief creative officer Mike Verdu, and chief marketing and revenue officer Jeff Karp–to name a few–along with vice presidents and managers.
Here’s a complete list of departures as we know it since March.
In recent months, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has faced various problems, including continuing growth on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and the emphasis of mobile game development.
Some have also questioned whether there’s a culture problem at the company, or maybe it’s difficult to work with CEO and co-founder Mark Pincus.
Another take, as noted by AllThings D, is that many of Zynga’s employees are now vested, and given the company’s recent challenges, some may think now is a good time to jump ship; either they do their own thing, or go elsewhere. Some executives that have also left the company, did so after a disagreement over a management-level restructuring, which gave Pincus greater control over Zynga’s games.
In December, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) went public, and it’s been a bumpy ride for the stock. It has dropped almost 70 percent since hitting the public markets with its $10 price.
On Wednesday morning, the stock opened up at$3.09, before closing up 4.07 percent at $3.20.
For the year-to-date, shares are down 66.15 percent.
Who’s the next executive to leave, or better yet, who’s left to depart?
