Zynga Inc. hired a Best Buy Co. Inc. executive as its chief financial officer, adding to a management shake-up as CEO Don Mattrick seeks to turn around the struggling social games developer.
David Lee, 42, will take the post Monday as well as the role of chief accounting officer, overseeing corporate finance and investor relations, the San Francisco-based company said Thursday. He replaces Mark Vranesh, who is leaving after six years at the company.
Since Mattrick was appointed chief executive in July, he has assigned executives new roles and eliminated positions as he reshapes the company to focus on games for phones and tablets, a market Zynga ceded to others after relying too heavily on Facebook titles such as "FarmVille." Mattrick said Thursday that he is pleased with the progress Zynga is making as it shifts to games on mobile devices.
"This year is off to a solid start, and our teams have created a strong base for growth throughout 2014," he said.
Lee, who served as senior vice president of corporate finance at Best Buy since December 2012, has more than 20 years' experience at retail companies and "has a track record of helping turn companies around, and a proven ability to make smart decisions that ensure sustained financial success for corporations," the company said.
At Best Buy, Lee helped the Richfield-based retailer combat e-commerce rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. Last year, Best Buy was the third-best performer in the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Before that, Lee spent more than eight years at Del Monte Foods, where he held leadership positions including overseeing corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, transformation and corporate affairs.
Zynga shares fell 30 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $4.07 Thursday amid a sell-off in technology shares. Best Buy fell $1.15 to $26.21.
