Back in April, Activision Publishing boss Mike Griffith resigned from the role and was promoted to Vice Chairman of Activision Blizzard. Today, the company finally found a replacement to take the reigns as CEO of Activision Publishing. Eric Hirshberg, an advertising veteran from Deutsch LA, will take the new role effective September 7.
Reporting to Activision Blizzard COO Thomas Tippl, Hirshberg will oversee product development and consumer marketing for Activision Publishing. Hirshberg spent 13 years at Deutsch, serving most recently as both Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer. Hirshberg has been lauded for his advertising expertise; he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement in 2007, and was named the WSAAA Leader of the Year in 2002 and 2006. Activision said he brings "an intimate understanding of the video game industry through his experience creating award-winning campaigns for Sony’s PlayStation 3."
“In contemplating the requirements for the role of Activision Publishing’s new CEO we believed it was vital to have a leader who was a dedicated gamer, inspired creative thinker, and possessed the ability to manage and lead creative talent in a manner that produced both superior products and provided superior shareholder returns,” stated Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. “Eric is unique in this regard. There was no one we could find who possessed the unique blend of skills that Eric brings to Activision.”
He continued, “Eric’s experience helping to develop strategies for his clients like Sony’s PlayStation, Direct TV and HTC have given him unique exposure to video games, subscription-based entertainment and the delivery of mobile content. I have known him for a long time and Eric is one of those rare multi-talented people who managed to build a billion dollar business from the ground up in a difficult, competitive industry using his creative skills, passion for excellence, discipline and focus. He is one of the most inspiring people I know and I am excited that his energy, determination, and keen understanding of popular culture will be added to our extraordinarily talented team.”
“Eric’s proven business development and talent management abilities combined with his established abilities as a creative leader make him uniquely suited to lead Activision Publishing for continued success,” added Tippl.
“I feel like everything I’ve done in my entire career has been preparing me for this,” says Hirshberg. “This is a chance to take everything I know how to do, from leading creative people, to developing a great creative product, to building a culture of ideas, and apply them to something I’ve been passionate about my entire life. Activision has a portfolio of properties, and track record of innovation that are second to none. To be able to help write the next chapter is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
3 Comments
July 14, 2010
They should've hired Kevin Butler.
July 16, 2010
Mod your comments... You also may want to ban queening. I'm sure your site doesn't like spammers.
July 16, 2010
@Concerned, we delete the spam everyday. We're in the middle of implementing a solution to prevent it so we hopefully won't have to delete as much soon