Unity executive John Riccitiello is retiring and stepping down as chief executive officer of the game development platform company.
“It’s been a privilege to lead Unity for nearly a decade and serve our employees, customers, developers and partners, all of whom have been instrumental to the Company’s growth,” Riccitiello said in the release.
James Whitehurst has been appointed Interim chief executive officer. Whitehurst was the CEO of RedHat before it was acquired by
IBM.
The leadership transition is effective immediately.
Unity
(ticker: U) shares rose by 4.3% to $30.99 in premarket trading Tuesday following the announcement.
Riccitiello joined Unity in 2014 when it was a private company, after serving as the CEO of videogame publisher Electronic Arts (EA) from 2007 to 2013. Riccitiello made numerous acquisitions during his tenure at EA that didn’t work out. EA’s stock fell by more than 60% during his time as CEO.
Riccitiello’s departure also comes after a turbulent period for Unity. In September, Unity announced a controversial new price hike plan that was met with a widespread revolt from its customers. The company was forced to apologize and backtrack on some parts of the plan. Its shares have fallen 27% over the past three months.
Unity’s board said it would start a search process with an executive search firm to find a permanent CEO. The company reaffirmed its previously announced third quarter 2023 guidance and said it would report its results on Nov. 9.
Write to Tae Kim at [email protected]
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