Why Don Mattrick's Move to Zynga Makes Perfect Sense

By Steve Symington – Jul 16, 2013 at 8:12PM

NASDAQ: ZNGA

Zynga

Don Mattrick surprised many recently when he left as head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Division to take the helm of Zynga, but one Fool thinks he knows why.

Shares of Zynga (ZNGA) are up 25% so far this month since the company announced that its much-maligned founding leader, Mark Pincus, would step down as CEO to give the job to Don Mattrick, who previously served as president of Microsoft's (MSFT -2.45%) interactive entertainment division.

But given that he was said to also be in line for the top spot at Electronic Arts (EA -0.65%), or could have even stayed at Microsoft to at least see through the launch of its new Xbox One console, why did Mattrick decide to join the struggling social-game maker?

As it turns out, he may have been fond of Zynga all along, and he also had plenty of incentive to join its ranks, says Fool contributor Steve Symington in the following interview with the Fool's Alison Southwick.

But will it matter in the end? Please watch the video to get Steve's full take, and then feel free to chime in using the comments section below.

Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.