In one of the first interviews since
assuming control of Take-Two by hostile shareholder takeover, chairman Strauss Zelnick has been talking about his plans, discussing the timeline for hiring a new CEO and the possible expansion of 2K Sports.
Talking
to financial website TheStreet.com, Zelnick indicated that his first order of business will be a careful one, commenting: "We need to stabilize the company at the corporate level and give stakeholders, both shareholders and employees, comfort that we will maximize the value of the company."
Currently, following the ousting of former CEO and president Paul Eibeler, Zelnick associate Ben Feder is temporarily in the Take-Two CEO chair, but Zelnick indicated that his CEO transition plan is medium-term: "Before we seek to fill the CEO slot we want to stabilize morale, develop our strategy and improve the structure of the company... So, I don't think we will have a new CEO right away but I would guess we have someone in the chair permanently within the next 12 months."
He also denied that there were any immediate headcount reduction plans, though he did comment that "a lean corporate operation will help shareholders", refusing to rule out staff cuts if necessary.
Finally, the issue of
Grand Theft Auto being a large percentage of the company's revenues was addressed, with Zelnick indicating: "Having one of the most important franchises in the video game business today creates revenue concentration". As for what could be grown to help ameliorate this problem, the company's 2K Sports division was singled out, according to TheStreet.com, with Zelnick commenting: "I think 2K Sports is a great idea."
