SeaWorld (SEAS) CEO to Step Down as Park Attendance Drops

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that its CEO is stepping down as head of the company and named its chairman as interim leader.

Attendance at its theme parks has been weak since the recession and has dropped in three of the past four quarters. SeaWorld has also been battling negative publicity since the release of "Blackfish" last year, a documentary that suggested its treatment of animals may have led to the death of trainers.

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SeaWorld has been trying to combat the decline with a turnaround effort. It said Thursday that it will eliminate an unspecified number of jobs as part of previously announced cost cuts, which are expected to save $50 million annually. The company would not say how many jobs it planned to cut.

Jim Atchison, the chief executive officer of SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS)

Jim Atchison has served as CEO and president since 2009. He will become vice chairman and will be nominated to the board of its independent nonprofit conservation fund.

Chairman David D'Alessandro will take over as interim CEO Jan. 15 and serve until a permanent replacement is found.

The company on Thursday also appointed two new directors to its board: Ellen Tauscher, a former congresswoman from California, and former advertising executive William Gray. Gray has also been a senior adviser to Blackstone, an investment firm and minority shareholder in SeaWorld.

Shares of SeaWorld, which operates 11 theme parks across the country, rose 16 cents in extended trading. Its stock closed Thursday up 45 cents to $16.09. The Orlando, Florida-based company's shares have lost about 45 percent in the past year.

Zynga's (ZNGA) marketing chief resigns after a year on the job

• 8th Zynga manager to leave since early August 2012

The departure of senior talent at online video games purveyor Zynga (ZNGA) continues this afternoon as the company announced in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission that its chief marketing officer, Jeff Karp, resigned.

Karp’s departure follows the departure of its chief creative officer, Mike Verdu, last month, followed almost immediately by the departure of its VP of studios, Bill Mooney, and vice president of marketing Brian Birtwistle.

Zynga has classically made much of its revenue from games hosted on Facebook (FB), though it has attempted to broaden its appeal to games it hosts directly on line through its own properties.

Zynga stock is off 2 cents, or 0.7%, at $2.80 in late trading.

Update: In a statement released this afternoon, subsequent to the filing, Zynga commented as follows:

Jeff Karp is leaving Zynga, and the groups in his organization have been realigned under appropriate existing divisions. Our marketing and revenue teams have always been industry leaders, and as we continue our transition toward mobile and multiplatform game creation and distribution, their continued execution will be key to our future success.  We are grateful to Jeff for his contributions over the last year and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Zynga to lose two vice presidents amid stock tumble

Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) vice presidents Bill Mooney and Brian Birtwistle have departed, following other top managers amid slowing sales and a stock decline at the biggest maker of social games on Facebook Inc. (FB), a person with knowledge of the matter said. 

Mooney, a vice president of studios who was general manager of the popular “FarmVille” game, and Birtwistle, a vice president of marketing, resigned this week, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the departures aren’t public.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Pincus has been unable to prevent defections as the company’s stock-price decline erodes the value of equity used to compensate staff. The CEO recently told employees they would receive option grants to help make up for a 71 percent slump in shares since Zynga’s December initial public offering. Investors are shunning the stock on signs that growth is slowing.

Five other managers who exited this month include Mike Verdu, Zynga’s former chief creative officer, who left to start his own company.

Zynga, founded by Pincus in 2007, has experienced lower turnover than other technology companies, Dani Dudeck, a spokeswoman for Zynga, wrote in an e-mailed statement.

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Zynga COO Resigns

Shares of online games purveyor Zynga (ZNGA) are down 5 cents, or 1.6%, at $2.90 after the company this evening said in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing that its chief operating officer, John Schappert, resigned, effective immediately. The company said “Mr. Schappert’s resignation from the Board was not tendered in connection with any disagreement.

Zynga chief operating officer John Schappert speaks at a Zynga event in San Francisco

Zynga shares (ZNGA) fell 2.1 percent to $2.95 at the close in New York. The stock has dropped 71 percent since the company’s initial public offering on Dec. 15, when it sold shares at $10 each.