EA veteran Frank Gibeau named as new Zynga CEO

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus has been replaced by former EA exec Frank Gibeau.

Pincus’ resignation from his position at the top of the social and mobile studio marks the second time he has stepped down from the post. He returned to the company last April, replacing outgoing boss Don Mattrick, having spent two years away from the firm.

Gibeau spent more than two decades at EA, and joined Zynga’s board of directors last summer.

"Frank has a history of developing strong teams and shipping market leading games," said Pincus in the announcement. "He is a seasoned leader with the experience to quickly navigate the kinds of challenges we face on a weekly basis.

“He has a proven 25-year track record having helped architect the successful turnaround of Electronic Arts as the president of EA Labels and more recently navigating the company’s platform transition efforts as EVP of EA Mobile. In our industry he’s known for driving operational excellence and leading winning teams on both the publishing and studio side of the gaming business."

Gibeau added: "We will continue to invest in our talent and build on our empowered, entrepreneurial culture. As important, we must commit to a new level of operational excellence with focused execution, engineered hits and strong cost discipline.

“I’m excited to get started and expect a seamless transition given the progress we’ve made together over the past seven months. I’m encouraged by our early momentum and look forward to partnering with our teams to build on the progress we’re seeing across the company."

Pincus will continue to work with Zynga in the role of executive chairman, collaborating with smaller teams to incubate innovation in the social gaming genre.

Zynga has recently begun to claw its way out of major financial losses, and is currently looking to sell its San Francisco HQ.