From Bernard Madoff’s billion-dollar ponzi scheme to Apple’s Foxconn scandal, the business community hasn’t exactly shown its best side to the media in recent years. That's why it's so refreshing to see a CEO that proves all corporate executives aren’t evil.
Dan Porter, CEO of social game design company OMGPOP, went out on an altruistic limb to hire back laid-off employees last week. Porter wanted to give his former workers an opportunity to capitalize on OMGPOP’s financial resurgence, according to Business Insider.
Just a few months ago OMGPOP was floundering. With balance sheets in the red and the company circling the drain of bankruptcy, Porter had to make the difficult decision to lay off several Flash developers.
Then came the launch of OMGPOP’s flagship “Draw Something” game, available for both iOS and Android. Within six weeks, “Draw Something” had been downloaded by over 35 million users.
Competing mobile game design firm Zynga Inc., eager to cash in on the trending app, purchased OMGPOP last month for the handsome sum of $210 million. That deal meant that the struggling startup suddenly found itself cash rich.
Instead of resting on his laurels and grabbing a lucrative bonus, however, Porter went to work rehiring the employees he fired so that they could cash in on their share of the spoils.
"He was literally negotiating the deal and jamming the re-hires back into payroll to make sure they were covered with hours remaining in the close," an anonymous source told the Business Insider.
Now that’s an example that Wall Street should follow.