SANTA MONICA, Calif.,
March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/
-- Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today
that Microsoft veteran Dennis Durkin
has been named Chief Financial Officer of the company,
reporting to Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive
Officer. Durkin assumes the position from Thomas Tippl,
who has been serving in the Chief Financial Officer position on an
interim basis since his promotion to Chief Operating Officer in
2010. As the company's Chief Operating Officer, Tippl will
continue to oversee Activision Publishing's and Blizzard
Entertainment's operational activities as well as the company's
Strategic Planning, Global Sales and Supply Chain, IT, Legal and
Human Resources departments.
"We are very pleased to welcome Dennis to Activision Blizzard's
senior management team," stated Bobby
Kotick. "Dennis joins us with more than 15 years
of multinational experience in finance and operational management
and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise as we continue to
build our business around the world. Dennis shares our
philosophy of shareholder value creation and in his new position
will be able to build on our strong financial and operational
foundation."
Durkin, 41, has been at Microsoft since 1999, most recently as
Corporate Vice President, Chief Operating and Financial Officer of
Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB), which
includes Xbox. During his nearly six year tenure in IEB, he
was a member of the IEB's leadership team, which is credited with
turning the business from a significant operating loss to greater
than $1 billion in annual profit,
while establishing Xbox 360 as the #1 console globally in 2011, and
driving the Xbox Live community to more than 40 million
members. In his role, Durkin was specifically responsible for
managing the overall business unit's profit and loss, coordinating
global business development activities and ensuring the operational
efficiency of the division.
Prior to joining the IEB/Xbox business in 2006, Durkin worked on
Microsoft's corporate development and strategy team, including two
years where he was based in London
driving pan-European activity.
Before joining Microsoft, Durkin was a financial analyst at
Alex. Brown and Company. He holds an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in
Government from Dartmouth College.
"I am thrilled to join the talented team at Activision Blizzard,
which has an incredible track record of consistent success," Durkin
added. "With the expansion of digital entertainment,
this is an exciting time to partner with the company's senior
leaders to continue to drive future growth and increase shareholder
value."
Headquartered in Santa Monica,
California, Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide online,
PC, console, handheld and mobile game publisher with leading
positions across every major category of the rapidly growing
interactive entertainment software industry.
Activision Blizzard maintains operations in the U.S.,
Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the
Netherlands, Australia,
South Koreaand China. More information about Activision
Blizzard and its products can be found on the company's website,
www.activisionblizzard.com
SOURCE Activision Blizzard, Inc.