Why Can't Glu Mobile Find A CEO?

I just finished reading Stuart Dredge's timely interview, for Mobile Entertainment, with Glu Mobile's freshly appointed interim CEO & President (and current co-chair of the board) Bill Miller... and I must say that I continue to be dumbfounded, and seriously concerned by that company's inability to recruit a new leader. As you'll recall, their venerable CEO Greg Ballard announced his resignation back in July and now he's actually left the building. Miller claims to Dredge that Glu's "search process kicked off in midsummer - not traditionally a fertile period for headhunting." He's gotta be kidding, right? I can't imagine that there's been any period in recent history where there have been more available, eligible candidates on the market! There have been rumors floating around for awhile that the board is specifically looking for someone with the skillset to package the company up for sale... but, there's gotta be swarms of those characters orbiting near San Mateo. Is it simply that they're not offering a reasonable compensation package? Needless to say, Glu's investors should be asking lots of questions about how this search is being conducted and why they "weren't able to close" with the few principal candidates they've identified to date.

Unfortunately the dysfunction of this process has already wounded the company tangibly by contributing to the resignation of Jill Braff, the company's respected head of publishing, and more subtlety (but no less significantly) in terms of industry and investor confidence.... and the hurt is likely to linger in light of Miller's admission to Dredge that the company is just now beginning its 2010 planning process. And, of course, all this chaos will continue to inure to the benefit of Glu's competitors, particularly EA Mobile and Gameloft (but also, nimble smartphone-focused upstarts), that will continue to steal its market share and usurp its market opportunities. Glu Mobile needs strong, visionary and permanent leadership now!

Un-Glu'd: CEO Greg Ballard Stepping Down At Glu Mobile

In a company press release, that hit the wire immediately after the close of US markets today, it was announced that Glu Mobile (GLUU) President & CEO Greg Ballard was stepping down after 6 years with the company. Glu, which was founded in 2001 as Sorrent and went public in March 2007, has struggled to become profitable and, in what many analysts perceived as as major misstep, was a latecomer publishing games to the ultra-hot iPhone platform. That said, Glu is a highly regarded publisher and by virtue of being the biggest public US-based pure-play mobile games company they've become somewhat of an industry bellwether. Moreover, in his role as a well-liked and articulate CEO, Ballard had taken up the mantle from former industry luminaries like Mitch Lasky (Jamdat) and David Gosen (I-Play), as the voice of mobile gaming...so it should be no surprise that his sudden departure is sending shock waves through an industry that is perennially on tenterhooks.

$mils

Glu Device Focus Changes, Title Focus Doesn't in Sticky MoGame Market

In a company issued press release today #3 mobile game publisher Glu Mobile (GLUU) announced that is was going to dedicate a full 30% of it's development resources to Apple, Nokia & Android devices...likely a reaction to their earlier admission that they had misjudged the importance of the iPhone platform.

The release also listed their Q1 games lineup which revealed that the publisher will continue to focus on licensed properties including entertainment-based titles such as Superman/Batman: Heroes United, Watchmen, Monsters vs Aliens and Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rescue.

In a Reuters interview with Glu CEO Greg Ballard today he said that decreasing handset sales will cause the global mobile games market to shrink in 2009. Glu Mobile projects a 10% -15% decline in revenue, which they claim tracks with those of other major games publishers like EA Mobile (ERTS) and Gameloft (GFT)