Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA)’s Social slots chief Maytal Olsha has left the company for a stealth start-up. She confirmed to GamesBeat, about leaving Zynga a month ago, and said that it was time to move on after creating successful social slots at Zynga.
Olsha latest to exit Zynga under Don Mattrick
Olsha joins the list of executives who left Zynga ever since Don Mattrick became the CEO of the San Francisco-based company. Almost everyone in the company before Mattrick arrived has left except for few veterans such as founder Mark Pincus, who is no longer the CEO of the company but continues to be chairman and Barry Cottle, executive vice president, head of the poker and casino franchisees.
Olsha gave her services to Zynga for two years, as the chief operating officer for the new markets prior to heading the slots. Before Zynga, Olsha worked with the prestigious 888 holdings, a publically traded company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and topmost in the real-money gambling arena in regulated markets.
The game maker took in Olsha for heading the real-money gambling. However, the strategy was changed after the company slipped downwards following the initial public offering (IPO) in 2011. Zynga waited long for getting the real-money gambling legalized in the United States, but sensing the delay it withdrew the plans, and shifted focus to the virtual goods-based social casino games such as Zynga Poker and Hit it Rich slots. Olsha was given the charge of social slots business, which included Hit it Rich and Duck Dynasty slots.
Zynga executives leave to set start-ups
Just a couple of days back, another ex- Zynga executive Andy Kleinman announced that he would start his own studio called MoLabs, which will develop mobile products, as reported by TechCrunch. Last year, Kleinman left Zynga and joined Scopely, a mobile gaming company and publishing network as the chief business officer. He worked with the Zynga for more than a year and later exited to follow new directions. “What I wanted to do was get out of games. It’s been too many years of games,” said Kleinman.
Kin Mai of TechCrunch was amused with Kleinman’s reason for leaving Scopely as Kleinman echoed the same reason for leaving Zynga. Meanwhile,
