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Zynga COO leaves game maker after reorganization

John Schappert leaves troubled company amid disappointing earnings and a plummeting stock price.

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Zynga Chief Operating Officer John Schappert has resigned his executive position and left the troubled social-game maker's board, the company revealed today in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Schappert, who joined the San Francisco-based game maker in May 2011, was replaced as head of the games division in a corporate restructuring last week.

"We can confirm that John Schappert has left Zynga and its board of directors effective immediately," Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said in a statement. "John has made significant contributions to the games industry throughout his career and we appreciate all that he has done for Zynga. John leaves as a friend of the company and we wish him all the best."

His departure comes a week after Pincus elevated Chief Mobile Officer David Ko and EVP of Games Steve Chiang to oversee games development and report directly to him rather than Schappert.

That reorganization occurred after the company turned in disappointing second-quarter earnings last month, causing its stock price to nose-dive more than 40 percent. The stock closed at $2.95, down 2 percent today, or 6 cents.

The company has also been slapped with duel lawsuits filed by two California law firms seeking class-action status on behalf of stockholders who are accusing Zynga of not warning them about slumping revenue growth that led to the stock drop.