Game Industry Veteran David Haddad to Lead Guitar Hero Business Unit
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb 02, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that David Haddad, Chief Operating Officer of Guitar Hero, will assume operational responsibilities for the business unit following the departure of President and CEO, Dan Rosensweig, who has left the company to pursue other career opportunities. Mr. Haddad will report to Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing, who will continue to oversee the Guitar Hero business unit.
"We would like to thank Dan for his contributions to the Guitar Hero business," stated Mike Griffith. "We widened our leadership in the music gaming genre in 2009. And now, as we enter 2010, David Haddad, with his broad consumer product and digital/online experience, is the right leader to drive our agenda to improve profitability."
Mr. Haddad brings more than 25 years of experience to Guitar Hero from such industries as online, traditional entertainment and consumer products. Prior to joining Activision Publishing, Mr. Haddad served as Chief Operating Officer of Vivendi Games' Sierra Online division, where he oversaw global product marketing, sales, live production, and business development initiatives for online games and console downloadable titles.
Before joining Sierra Online, Mr. Haddad served as a division president for Mattel, Inc. and held executive management positions at such entertainment companies as the Walt Disney Company, and Liveplanet, Inc.
Mr. Haddad holds an MBA in marketing and finance from Harvard University and a BA degree in Business Administration from Miami University.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.
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