Mad Catz Shares Plummet as CEO and Other Execs Leave the Company

Gaming peripherals company Mad Catz is having a tough day on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's share value is down more than 22 percent today, falling to 30 cents at press time, a downturn that may be at least partially attributable to an executive shakeup announced earlier today.

The company announced a handful of changes to its management team and board of directors. Mad Catz president and CEO Darren Richardson has resigned from the company, effective immediately. He also loses his seat on the company's board of directors. Taking over for Richardson is Karen McGinnis, who most recently served as Mad Catz's CFO. She will fill Richard's board of directors seat.

Taking over for McGinnis as Mad Catz CFO is David McKeon, who was previously a vice president and corporate controller at the company.

Additionally, Thomas Brown (chairman of the board of directors and a member of the board's audit committee) resigned on Friday, February 5. Filling his spot as chairman is John Nyholt, who has been a director at Mad Catz since 2013.

Further still, Whitney Peterson (Mad Catz senior vice president of business affairs, general counsel, and corporate secretary) has resigned, and is replaced by Tyson Marshall, who was previously associate general counsel. In another move, Mad Catz announced that Andrew Young, formerly vice president for product development, is now Mad Catz's chief technology officer, a position it just recently created.

"We recognize the tremendous value that Thomas, Darren, and Whitney have brought to Mad Catz during their tenure and thank them for their many contributions throughout the years," McGinnis said in a statement. "Looking ahead, we are confident that we have a talented leadership team in place that will enable us to steer the company on a steady course in its operations and financial performance as we look to grow our business and reward our shareholders."

Mad Catz will report earnings for its latest financial period tomorrow, February 9, with a conference call to follow. The company didn't say why it is making these major management changes, but that may be a topic of discussion during tomorrow's briefing. We'll have more details as they're made available.

Mad Catz was founded in 1989. It creates peripherals for PC and console games, most recently launching a new line of fight sticks for the soon-to-be-released Street Fighter V. The company also co-published Rock Band 4 with developer Harmonix.

Last summer, Mad Catz management said uncertainty surrounding Rock Band 4's sales, along with a number of other factors, "raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."