Rovio's head of Games steps down
"Personal reasons" cited as Wilhelm Taht leaves the Finnish company with immediate effect
Rovio's Wilhelm Taht has stepped down as the head of the company's Games business, a position he has held since 2016.
According to a statement from Rovio, Taht has departed the company for "personal reasons", effective immediately. Taht joined the company in 2014, and was promoted to EVP of the Games unit at the start of 2016.
"With his leadership we have grown the Games business revenue and profitability significantly, and put together several top games teams," said CEO Kati Levoranta, who will assume Taht's responsibilities following his departure.
"We're all going to miss his deep games experience and his visible contribution to the Rovio spirit. Going forward we will further continue to empower our studios and simplify our structure to be ever more agile."
In a statement of his own, Taht discussed the "astonishing change" in Rovio's games in his time at the company, including the transition to running all games as services and to the free-to-play model
"I will never forget that journey and the learnings I have been blessed with as Head of Games," he said.
The news of Taht's departure arrives on the same day that Rovio announced the closure of its London office and reported its apparently positive fiscal results for 2017. Last week, the company's 2018 forecast prompted its share value to fall by around 50 per cent.