Take-Two CEO Shown The Door
While gamers were pacing back and forth and biting their nails in anticipation of the GTA IV trailer yesterday afternoon, quite a different scene was going down in the Take Two board room. We'd all seen this coming for a while, but Take-Two's shareholders had had enough and by the end of yesterday's meeting, CEO Paul Eibeler was given the proverbial boot amidst accusations of mismanagement and money issues. Mysteriously absent from the proceedings was Take-Two's self proclaimed "most abiding and successful opponent", the insidious He Who Must Not Be Named. I was rather surprised he wasn't there given his apparent glee at the falling apart of his most hated enemy.
Former BMG Entertainment CEO, Strauss Zelnick, took the Chairman of the Board spot with Ben Feder taking the reigns as acting CEO. Zelnick gave a statement following the shake up to assure everyone that take Two is still in the business of producing games.
Take-Two has exceptional brands and creative resources, and we are thrilled to be able to work with the many talented people within the company. The new Board plans to put in place strategies designed to revitalize Take-Two, focus on supporting and enhancing its creative output, improve its margins and ensure that the 2007 release pipeline meets expectations. We are here to maximize the value of Take-Two for shareholders, for game consumers, and for the Company’s employees.
But, in typical Take-Two style, they didn't take the shake-up lying down. Not two hours after the corporate shift, the GTA IV trailer appeared on the net like a beautifully detailed phoenix from the ugly flames of a company gone wrong.
T2 Shareholders Give CEO the Boot [Game Politics]
Fruit Brute
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 30 March 2007
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