The exodus continues: Zynga’s chief security officer resigns



Executive departures at Zynga are continuing as the social gaming giant’s chief security officer, Nils Puhlmann, is the latest to resign.

Techcrunch reported the departure, and we’ve confirmed it with a source at Zynga. Puhlmann served as CSO at Zynga since 2009, and he resigned yesterday.

Details on Puhlmann’s  departure aren’t yet available. Our only contact with Puhlmann came from an interview with him over a security flaw that hackers were exploiting in YoVille. Zynga had to create an ironclad security system because it generates all of its revenues digitally, largely through virtual goods transactions. And those transactions have to be secure.

The San Francisco-based social game company has seen departures in the wake of a weak earnings report. The executives who left include chief operating officer John Schappert, infrastructure chief technology officer Allan Leinwand, chief creative officer Mike Verdu, and chief marketing and revenue officer Jeff Karp. Other general managers and vice presidents have also departed.

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.