Activision Blizzard has elevated the positions of three executives and promoted their duties following the departure of many senior staffers, that include the company’s chief financial officer. the three new presidents are Bobby Kistich, Humam Sakhnini, and Dennis Durkin.
Activision Blizzard is one of the biggest companies known for publishing hit games like Call of Duty and owns Overwatch and World of Warcraft developer Blizzard.
One of the promoted executive is Rob Kostich, who has been the executive vie president and general manager of Call of Duty for 10 years. His position has been elevated not to the President of Activision. Call of Duty is the most successful game franchises in history, were if features first-person shooter and regularly is the top selling game ever year.
The second person promoted is Humam Sakhnini of King Digital Entertainment. You probably know the company best for Candy Crush. Sakhnini has now been promoted to being the president of King Digital Entertainment.
The last person being promoted is Dennis Durkin who will serve as president of Emerging Business. Dennis recently returned to his position as Activision Blizzard’s chief financial officer, a role that he previously held from 2012-2017. He became CFO again after the company recently fired Spencer Newmann from the position.
Bobby Kotick recently commented on the promotions, as well as the promotion of J. Allen Brack, who was the former World of Warcraft executive producer but now promoted to president of Blizzard Entertainment. Bobby Kotick stated,
Rob, Humam, Dennis and J. exemplify our deep bench of operational and commercial leadership. These capable and seasoned executives have shown unwavering commitment to our company, our employees, and our beloved community of fans around the world,” explained Kotick. “With these proven, principled leaders at the helm, we will continue to invest in the strategic growth drivers of our business; our talented people, and creating the world’s best video games, live services, mobile experiences, and new and growing franchise engagement models.
The recent shuffle in positions are being made to add stability following the departures in the past year that include the heads of both the Activision and Blizzard units. Activision Blizzard is the largest standalone video game maker in the U.S., and has seen slower sales recently. Analysts say that the changes are in light for the new releases coming this year.
The new presidents will have an uphill task and a long road ahead of them. Only time will tell if they steer Activision Blizzard to a bright future and success.
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