Sometimes ... you just have to follow your heart. TechCrunch reports that Zynga executive Jeremy Verba (pictured far right) has left his position as GM of hit game Treasure Isle to become the CEO of eHarmony, the ubiquitous online dating service. (I think we've all seen that old white guy tout the service enough on TV.) Confirmed on his Linkedin profile, Verba worked with Zynga since December 2009.
While Treasure Isle certainly isn't Zynga's most popular, it's still worthy of "hit" status at 5.6 million monthly players and over 1 million of those being daily players, according to AppData. The timing sounds even more odd when you consider that the company could go public any day now, raising another cool $1 billion and realizing a potential $20 billion valuation. Perhaps it was simply the title of CEO that lured him in. (Though, I'd personally want to be with the potentially most valuable games company ever.)
As Verba leaves the company, Zynga is reportedly reeling in a number of execs from other games companies, namely EA. Just this year, former EA CCO John Schappert has joined Zynga. It's also rumored that Jeff Karp, VP of the publisher's EA Play division, has left for Zynga along with Mark Turmell, creator of NBA Jam and formerly senior creative director at EA Sports.
According to TechCrunch, eHarmony has enjoyed growth through its mobile apps and generally across its web offerings, and operates in 16 countries. Hey, maybe the guy just got bored of being on top in the games biz. But considering the guy has a wife and kids, according to his Twitter profile, we seriously doubt he's looking for anything more than prestige and a pay upgrade.
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