Midway Chairman Resigns, Booty Steps Up

The Board chairman and director of struggling publisher Midway has resigned. Peter C. Brown stepped down citing personal reasons, and CEO Matt Booty now adds Board chairman to his title. Booty officially became CEO of Midway in October 2008, though he held the role on an interim basis since March. He's been with the company since 1991, when he joined as an engineer and programmer, gradually gaining in responsibility to take the role of VP of product development in 2002 and later, senior VP of Worldwide Studios. Midway faces bankruptcy and stock market delisting, recently reduced its staff by a further 25 percent after layoffs throughout the year, closed its Austin studio and terminated projects. Though the company reached two separate agreements with its bondholders that give it a reprieve until late February, the company could thereafter be put under by a buyback obligation that went into effect when Sumner Redstone sold his controlling stake in the company back in December.