Mark Pincus

Mark Pincus, CEO of Facebook gaming titan Zynga, has told investors the company can double the number of users who actively contribute to its revenue. Zynga is far and away the most successful developer on Facebook, with 220 million monthly active users across its games, all of which are free to play. In the 12 months to September 30, however, just 7.7 million paid for virtual items. More >

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus has dismissed claims he forced employees to give up company stock as "false and skewed." A front-page report in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) claimed that employees who were given stock options in the early days of the company had been threatened with dismissal unless they gave them up. Pincus, apparently fearing he had been over-generous early on, then offered the stock to newly headhunted employees. More >

In what is being described as an "unprecedented" move for a technology company, Zynga has changed the structure of its stock to give CEO Mark Pincus 70 times the voting power of those who buy its shares on the stock market. Each of Pincus' shares will be worth 70 votes, with current stockholders' shares worth 10 votes, and those that bought shares after Zynga filed for an IPO get just one vote per share. One observer said the move may have been designed to ensure that Zynga staff with stock options do not have the power to outvote Pincus, who founded the company in 2007 and, with a 16 per cent share, is its majority shareholder.