Call of Duty® GM Rob Kostich Named President of
Activision; King Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer
Humam Sakhnini Named President of King Digital Entertainment; and
Company Chief Financial Officer Dennis Durkin to Assume Expanded
Role as President of Emerging Businesses
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced key
leadership appointments, naming long-time veteran executives to
lead three of the Company’s operating units. Call of Duty®
Executive Vice President and General Manager Rob Kostich has been
named President of Activision; Humam Sakhnini has been named
President of King Digital Entertainment, having most recently
served as both Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer
of the operating unit. The Company also named Dennis Durkin
President of Activision Blizzard’s Emerging Businesses, in addition
to his role as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. As
previously announced, veteran Blizzard executive and World of
Warcraft® Executive Producer J. Allen Brack continues to serve as
the President of Blizzard Entertainment.
“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,”
said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “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 videogames, live services, mobile
experiences, and new and growing franchise engagement models.”
Kostich Named President, ActivisionRob Kostich has led
the Company’s most iconic franchise, Call of Duty®, for the past 10
years. He is an Activision veteran of nearly 15 years and, as
President, Kostich will oversee strategy and operations, including
game development, for the operating unit. Under his leadership as
GM and Executive Vice President of the franchise, Call of Duty® has
become one of the most successful entertainment properties in
history. As a franchise, Call of Duty has now generated more
revenue than the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the box office, and
double that of the cumulative box office of Star Wars.
During his tenure, Call of Duty has been the No. 1 top-selling
console video game franchise in the U.S. for the last decade. Mr.
Kostich also serves as President of the Call of Duty Endowment and
has overseen the growth of Call of Duty esports including the
establishment of the Call of Duty World League, a leading esports
organization. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kostich held a
variety of leadership and marketing positions at Verisign, Nestlé
USA and The Clorox Company.
Sakhnini Named President, King DigitalAs President of
King, Humam Sakhnini will oversee all operational management in
partnership with King CEO Riccardo Zacconi. Most recently, Mr.
Sakhnini served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy
Officer of King, a role he’s held since April 2016. Mr. Sakhnini
previously spent six years at Activision Blizzard as the Chief
Strategy and Talent Officer for the Company. During this time, he
led several successful growth and corporate development
initiatives, including the Company’s acquisition of King.
Prior to joining Activision Blizzard, Mr. Sakhnini was a partner
at McKinsey & Company for eight years, where he provided
counsel to executives at the world's leading media and technology
companies. During his tenure at McKinsey, he focused on business
strategy including acquisitions, international growth and market
entry, as well as marketing, sales, and organizational
transformation.
Durkin Named President, Emerging BusinessesDennis Durkin,
who was recently re-appointed Chief Financial Officer of Activision
Blizzard, will also serve as President of the Company’s Emerging
Businesses, working closely with each division’s leadership team.
In this expanded role, Mr. Durkin will oversee operational
management of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues, Activision
Blizzard Studios and Activision Blizzard Consumer Products Group.
Mr. Durkin previously held the role of CFO from March 2012 to May
2017, and most recently, served as Chief Corporate Officer for the
Company.
During Mr. Durkin’s initial tenure as Chief Financial Officer of
Activision Blizzard, the Company delivered strong financial
performance, and a greater than 400 percent increase in the stock
price during that time. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Durkin
held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at
Microsoft Corporation during an over twelve-year period, including
Corporate Vice President and Chief Operating and Financial Officer
of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business (IEB), which
included the Xbox console business.
J. Allen Brack, President, Blizzard EntertainmentOn Oct
2, 2018, Activision Blizzard appointed J. Allen Brack as President
of Blizzard Entertainment. J. continues to serve in this role,
overseeing strategy and operations, including game development, for
the operating unit.
J. is a seasoned game industry veteran bringing nearly 24 years’
experience to this role. As President of Blizzard Entertainment,
Brack is dedicated to maintaining the high standard of quality that
has propelled Blizzard to become an internationally recognized
leader in interactive entertainment. Most recently, Brack served as
executive producer and senior vice president for World of Warcraft,
the #1 subscription-based MMORPG in the world. Throughout his
twelve years at Blizzard, World of Warcraft has captivated millions
of players worldwide and received a steady stream of high-quality
content updates, including multiple expansions that rank among the
fastest-selling PC games of all time. Prior to joining Blizzard,
Brack held multiple roles at Origin Systems, Inc., working on the
Wing Commander franchise, and then at Sony Online Entertainment LLC
working on Star Wars Galaxies.
About Activision BlizzardActivision Blizzard, Inc., a
member of the Fortune 500 and S&P 500, is the world's most
successful standalone interactive entertainment company. We delight
hundreds of millions of monthly active users around the world
through franchises including Activision's Call of Duty®, Destiny,
Spyro™, and Crash™, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft®,
Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, Diablo®, StarCraft®, and Heroes of the
Storm®, and King's Candy Crush™, Bubble Witch™, and Farm Heroes™.
The company is one of the Fortune "100 Best Companies To Work
For®." Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision
Blizzard has operations throughout the world. More information
about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the
company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190109005424/en/
Activision Blizzard, Inc.Kristin Binns, 917-697-7802Chief
Communications OfficerKristin.Binns@activision.com
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