Activision Blizzard appoints Daniel Alegre as its new president and COO

Activision Blizzard has appointed Daniel Alegre as its new president and COO.

Alegre – who previously served as Google’s president of global retail and shopping – replaces current president and COO Coddy Johnson, who’s remaining at the company in a new role as special advisor to the CEO. Alegre takes up the post on April 7th.

“I was deeply impressed by Daniel’s entrepreneurial drive and broad and deep experience in driving global growth across a variety of businesses in a rapidly changing industry,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “Our greatest challenges are prioritizing the many opportunities we have and recruiting and retaining the talent needed to execute with focus and excellence. Daniel is a proven leader with a long track record of success doing both.”

“Activision Blizzard is at an exciting point in its history,” said Alegre. “In addition to a deep library of owned and internationally beloved franchises, the company has tremendous talent that has built a culture committed to inspiration and creativity. More importantly, through thoughtful and creative games, it connects and engages over 400 million people around the world through epic entertainment. I look forward to helping players around the world connect through quality and immersive games.”

Talking about outgoing president Coddy Johnson, Kotick said: “During Coddy’s combined twelve years at Activision Blizzard, he has made extraordinary contributions to the continued success of the company. He has been a transformative leader, a trusted advisor, and an inspiration through his unwavering hard work and determination. We are incredibly thankful for the lasting impact Coddy has had on the Company and I am especially grateful for the impact he has had on me personally.”