Majesco CFO Steps Down

Cooking Mama publisher Majesco on Monday said CFO and executive VP John Gross is resigning from the game company this month to take on another undisclosed job. Gross joined Edison, NJ-based Majesco in 2006, the company said in a statement. Before then, he was CFO at dietary supplement beverage company Nuvium, and has been working in financial positions for the past 20 years. Gross joined Majesco at a turning point in the company's business strategy. In early 2006, Majesco, which published games including the critically-acclaimed but commercially underperforming Psychonauts and Phantom Dust, said it would switch focus from high-cost "triple-A" hardcore-focused games to lower-cost, mass market titles like Cooking Mama. Majesco was able to turn around its losses and declining sales thanks to the shift in strategy. Most recently, Majesco reported fiscal Q2 revenues that dropped 47 percent year-on-year to $10.9 million for the three months ended April 30. Losses during the period were $1.6 million, up from a loss of $600,000 for the same period a year prior. Majesco senior VP, corporate controller and chief accounting officer Michael Vesey will serve as interim CFO following Gross' official departure on August 20 this year. "Mike has worked closely with John and will have an easy transition to his role as interim CFO," said Majesco CEO Jesse Sutton. "John has provided strong financial leadership to the company for the last five years, effectively managing the balance sheet, reducing operating costs and helping guide us towards improved profitability," Sutton added. Majesco is currently being sued by publisher SouthPeak over the rights to the family-friendly franchise My Baby, which has sold over 1 million units across the entire series.