In Major Hire, Zynga Confirms Xbox Head Don Mattrick as New CEO, Taking Over From Mark Pincus 
 
 As AllThingsD reported earlier today, Zynga confirmed that it has hired Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment President Don Mattrick as its new CEO. Zynga’s stock is down nearly 70 percent since it sold shares to the public in late 2011. In a blog post about the move, Pincus wrote, “if I could find someone who could do a better job as our CEO I’d do all I could to recruit and bring that person in. Pincus had only half-heartedly tried that before, hiring Electronic Arts exec John Schappert as COO. Mr. Mattrick, the president of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business, has had a rocky few weeks since the unusual public outcry that followed the revelation last month of many important details about Xbox One at the E3 game conference. Pincus has been struggling to move the company into mobile quickly, as its once strong Web and Facebook consumer business has waned. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Pincus, who still holds 61 percent of the voting power in the company through his Zynga shares, will give Mr. Mattrick the freedom to run the company the way he wants. Zynga said that Mr. Mattrick will join Mr. Pincus on a newly formed executive committee to manage the company’s affairs between board meetings. “He deeply understands the value of a network and the importance of creating lifelong consumer relationships.” 
 
 Said Mattrick: “I joined Zynga because I believe that Mark’s pioneering vision and mission to connect the world through games is just getting started.
– After a disastrous year and a major round of layoffs, Zynga has decided its founding CEO is no longer the person for the job. The social gaming firm behind titles such as FarmVille has chosen Don Mattrick, the current chief of Microsoft's Xbox division, to replace Mark Pincus at the helm, All Things Digital reports. "Don is unique in the game business," Pincus, who will remain as chairman, said in a statement. "He can execute in multiple domains—hardware, software, and network." Mattrick, a hardcore gamer with a solid business record, will be tasked with turning the company around, though some analysts say his lack of experience in mobile gaming could be a problem, the New York Times notes.