In what may be calibrated as an attempt to save the flailing online game maker Zynga, the company has hired David Lee away from Best Buy.
Lee, corporate finance executive for the retailer, will come on board as Zynga's chief financial officer on April 14, replacing Mark Vranesh. He is part of a larger, on-going executive-level housecleaning.
"David has a deep understanding of business management and a sharp financial acumen that will be invaluable to Zynga's long-term growth and success. He has a track record of fostering cultures of excellence and navigating business transformations through sound counsel and strategic planning. David is a seasoned financial executive whose two decades of experience will deepen our leadership capabilities and I am proud to welcome him to Zynga," said Don Mattrick, CEO of Zynga.
Lee will be phased in over the next month, during which he will work with Vranesh.
Lee will be at the forefront of trying to reinvent Zynga, turning it from a Facebook-centric game maker into one that more broadly attacks the mobile gaming market.
The new position will be Lee's first in the gaming world. At Best Buy he was responsible for developing corporate strategy and financial planning. During his tenure at Best Buy, the consumer electronics retailer underwent a turnaround that saw sales and its stock price increasse. Prior to that job, Lee was at Del Monte Foods.
"It is an honor to join Zynga during such a transformative time in the company's history. Zynga reached impressive milestones in its first phase of growth, entertaining more than one billion people with its games and creating iconic, household brands with franchises like FarmVille and Words With Friends," said Lee. "Don and the leadership team have an ambitious vision anchored by a rich culture of innovation, and I look forward to working with them to build the next chapter of Zynga's growth."
In addition, he will have to lend a hand to a company that is in the midst of tough financial times that saw it post a loss of $25.2 million for its fourth quarter. Despite being in the red, that quarter was an improvement over the previous fourth quarter, when its loss was stated at $48.6 million.
Part of this success can be attributed to the cost-cutting measures put in place by Mattrick, who joined Zynga in 2013. Those measures have reduced expenditures by 15 percent.
