Dennis Durkin Named Chief Financial Officer Of Activision Blizzard

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."

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