Vivendi CEO Activision Blizzard's new chairman

By Tor Thorsen, Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted May 5, 2009 11:06 am PT

Massive multinational's chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy to head board of world's biggest third-party publisher; Bobby Kotick still CEO.

Last July's merger of Vivendi Games and Activision created the world's biggest third-party publisher. During its 2008 fiscal year, it took in $2.9 billion, thanks to massive sales of Call of Duty: World at War, World of Warcraft, and the Guitar Hero franchise.

Jean-Bernard Levy

But as big as Activision Blizzard is, it is dwarfed by its majority shareholder, Vivendi SA, which profited handsomely from the merger. The massive French multinational took in €25.39 billion ($33.9 billion) last year from its broad array of holdings, including direct subsidiaries French television network Canal+ Group and record label Universal Music Group. The company also has a 20 percent stake in US film studio/TV network NBC Universal.

Despite Activision Blizzard's small size relative to Vivendi, the latter's chief executive officer is taking a more hands-on approach to managing the company. Today, Vivendi announced that CEO Jean-Bernard Levy will become the next chairman of Activision Blizzard's board of directors. The 54-year-old Levy will step into the role currently held by the retiring senior executive vice president of Vivendi's human-resources division, Rene Penisson.

Currently, Levy is one of the 11 directors on Activision Blizzard's board. Although Levy will be chairing the board, Robert Kotick will continue on as the publisher's CEO--the same position he held at premerger Activision since 1991. Kotick also holds a seat on the board and is one of five directors who originally came from Activision.

23 Comments

  • scootertrash267

    Posted May 6, 2009 3:15 pm PT

    This move made me so nervus i uninstalled wow + i have a lot of crap going on in my life i have no time to play

  • the_best_sarek

    Posted May 6, 2009 8:22 am PT

    Let's be realistic here. If the guy became the CEO of the company, it's probably because he knows how to do good business. Looking at the success and strategy already in place for WoW, I doubt he'll change anything at all.

  • gameking5000

    Posted May 5, 2009 11:42 pm PT

    I need an idea of him before I say bhis good or bad

  • Pete5506

    Posted May 5, 2009 6:04 pm PT

    I cant really see anything good coming from this

  • Szczepanik

    Posted May 5, 2009 3:31 pm PT

    yes, this move makes me very nervous.

  • makemeweak

    Posted May 5, 2009 3:29 pm PT

    Activision Blizzard continues it's downward spiral into corporate monotony...

  • Kcoshiob

    Posted May 5, 2009 2:58 pm PT

    kiss your favorite franchises goodbye, and get ready for some churn.
    When all they have to say about a guy is how much he is worth, it seems clear all he will do is try to make it grow.
    Nothing inherently wrong with that, aside form the fact that it will likely mean even more horrendous sequels, and remakes, along with very little risk taking.
    Sad.

  • INFAMOUSHAVOC

    Posted May 5, 2009 2:01 pm PT

    cod wow was weak

  • ColdfireTrilogy

    Posted May 5, 2009 1:59 pm PT

    BlizzardActivision is Small compared to Vivendi Okassar ... 56.6 billion dollars straight net worth. They yearly gains are 25billion + before reductions. Blizzardactivisions are around 2-4billion before reductions.... its not even close.

  • Shadow_Fire41

    Posted May 5, 2009 1:55 pm PT

    .........i heard that WoW is majorly messed up right now, that true?

  • Zero5000X

    Posted May 5, 2009 1:18 pm PT

    Mike Morhaime needs to be CEO and Chairman... Bring some of that Blizzard magic to the rest of the company.

  • okassar

    Posted May 5, 2009 1:08 pm PT

    Activision Blizzard, small?They're worth 21 Billion Dollars lol.

  • Shlomiki

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:59 pm PT

    @da_chub

    I agree with you on that. Companies like EA that do not rely on quality but rather on quantity, ruin harcore gaming. EA is a mainstream giant, releasing crap sequels every year.

  • Oni

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:48 pm PT

    They should force him to grind up a character to lvl 80 in WoW first, then he get's the job.

  • da_chub

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:45 pm PT

    Companies like EA and Activision are ruining videogames. they nickel/dime us for everything, paying for dlc, WoW. They release crappy sequels every year, instead of an awesome game every few years. EA has more shovelware on the Wii then Nintendo does. It is nice the gaming is so mainstream, but companies are getting too big.

  • samer312

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:36 pm PT

    its the government man trying to control us all ...lol
    anyways, these publishers are starting to become bigger and more powerful than any one could imagine15 years ago

  • aura_enchanted

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:26 pm PT

    EA and activision there becoming dictators of the market how i despise them both.

  • Barighm

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:20 pm PT

    Let's hope this guy's perspective on things doesn't change the quality of their products.

  • SteelTiger360

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:04 pm PT

    wow that's great another "merger" that seems to be the latest trend other then customer value

  • Ambli

    Posted May 5, 2009 12:03 pm PT

    Money grubbing idiots.

World of Warcraft Quick Links

Summary | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum

advertisement
World of Warcraft Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
World of Warcraft

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    6,678 of 79,465
    (down by 436)
    MAC Rank:
    25 of 1,001
    Tracking:
    94 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    23 Wish It»
  • Player Ratings:
    141
    Users Now Playing:
    45
  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. world of warcraft
    2. wow
    3. blizzard entertainment
    4. fantasy
    5. mind to chek it out!!
  • Teen Rating Description

    Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement