Social Dev RockYou Promotes Lisa Marino To CEO

Five months after its former chief executive resigned, social game developer RockYou (Zoo World) has announced that its board of directors promoted Lisa Marino, previously chief operating officer, as its new CEO. Marino joined the Redwood City-headquartered firm in 2008 and has taken on various positions at RockYou since, including general manager, vice president of Sales, chief revenue officer, and chief operating officer. Prior to entering the social game industry, she was the national sales manager at eBay's Motors division. Her new leadership follows several months after RockYou saw a restructuring meant to shift more of its focus on games and away from social media advertising. That transition brought significant layoffs in the developer's non-game divisions, and former CEO and co-founder Lance Tokuda announced his resignation soon afterward. That transition also brought several key hires from the gaming industry to RockYou, such as Games SVP Jonathan Knight, previously an executive producer at Electronic Arts; and Redwood office general manager Steve Cartwright, formerly an interactive design manager at Gazillion Entertainment. RockYou also recently acquired UK-based social game developer Gourmet Ranch and 3D social game engine maker TirNua. It signed a publishing agreement to release the first title from Loot Drop, the new studio from game industry notable John Romero (Doom, Quake), too. In January 2011, the company announced the acquisition of UK-based social game developer Playdemic, developer of the rapidly-growing Gourmet Ranch, and in February 2011, announced a deal to publish the first title from legendary game designer John Romero's new studio, Loot Drop. "RockYou is my passion," says Marino. "I really believe in our talent and the games and ad products we have in our pipeline. I am honored to lead this team. The rapid evolution of the social gaming space, combined with the collaborative environment we're building at RockYou, inspires me every day."