Zynga let loose its intentions to break into the real money online poker industry back in July, and since then, the social gaming company has undergone a lot of changes. Just recently, rumors of the company seeking out experienced management were confirmed when a Zynga executive announced the hiring of former 888 senior VP, Maytal Ginzburg Olsha.
Olsha was previously employed by the 888 online gambling giant as Senior Vice President of Corporate and Regulated Markets. The new role at Zynga will see Olsha in the position of Chief Operating Officer of New Markets, where her responsibilities will include overseeing expansion of the social gaming network’s real money venture into new regions, under the capable wing of Barry Cottle.
Executive Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at Zynga, Cottle is excited about the acquisition of the former 888 VP. “Maytal Olsha is a fantastic addition to Zynga. She joins our team with a deep understanding and direct experience in getting online gaming product offerings off the ground and directly into the hands of players,” Cottle observed. “She is a strong advocate for integrating social features into real money offerings in order to make them more appealing and interactive for casual audiences. Maytal’s arrival is a win for Zynga and our player network.”
“Zynga is at the forefront of the next evolution of games and entertainment,” Olsha shared her own zeal going into the new position. “The company has already built enthusiastic, engaged communities around free social casino games. And as we move down the path towards real money offerings we will be listening carefully to our players to align with the right potential partners and offer the best gaming experience possible. Zynga is made up of incredible talent and dedicated leaders and I am proud to have joined the team.”
Olsha commented on the “dedicated leaders” at the social gaming company, but it is interesting to point out just how many of Zynga’s top officials were not so dedicated to the cause when the company’s numbers began to fall. A severe drop in the stock market and weak earnings report in July has resulted in Zynga being forced to honor the resignation of some of its most important team leaders, including several vice presidents, the chief operating officer, the chief creative officer, some of its general managers, and just last week, the chief marketing officer Jeff Karp submitted his resignation from Zynga.
With so many key members of the Zynga corporation bowing out of their positions, one has to wonder what makes the company so certain that its impending real money online poker enterprise, scheduled for launch in 2013, will be a success. It’s apparent that each of the officials who resigned were not nearly so confident in the potential triumph of Zynga’s real money social gambling blueprint.
As for Maytal Ginzburg Olsha, her years of experience can only help to provide an outline for success as Zynga pulls ever closer to entering the real money poker market. She has been working for 888 since 2007, where she started as VP of Customer Acquisition and was quickly promoted in 2009 to VP of Poker and Corporate Customer Acquisition. Earlier this year, she was raised to Senior VP of Corporate and Regulated Markets for the online gambling giant.