RockYou appoints new CEO

RockYou, the US social games studio behind Zoo World and Gourmet Ranch, has announced that Lisa Marino has been named the new company CEO by its board of directors.

Marino, who previously worked as COO, had been the de-facto head of the company for some time, and was chosen for her new position after overseeing a restructuring that saw RockYou’s main business focus change to video games.

“Over the last three years, Lisa has demonstrated her strong leadership, building RockYou’s brand business and later leading its award-winning advertising business as the company’s CRO,” said RockYou CFO Steve Van Horne.

“She helped put RockYou on the map as one of the largest social media advertising networks, and as COO, she managed the transition of RockYou into a leading social gaming company.

“With her ability to execute change, drive revenue growth, and position the company for the future, Lisa is the logical choice to lead RockYou.”

RockYou board member David Chao expanded on the reasons for Marino’s CEO selection.

“Lisa Marino has positioned RockYou for success in the social gaming space, hiring key executive talent, acquiring Playdemic and TirNua, and reorganizing the company to focus on delivering next-generation social games,” he said.

“As a result, RockYou has made a quick pivot to become one of the fastest growing game developers on Facebook.”