Daniel Alegre, Activision Blizzard King’s president and chief operating officer, has disclosed plans to leave the company next year.
According to an 8K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, his decision to leave is because he found “another opportunity” in another company.
Daniel will sit out the remainder of his term of employment. It ends on March 31, 2023. This neatly ties things up for the company as this is also the end of the 2nd quarter of the fiscal year.
Alegre had previously been head of global retail and shopping at Google, but this may not have been relevant to Alegre for the duration of his tenure.
Alegre willingly took these top roles in the company at a time when they were facing multiple challenges. This includes the lawsuits filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. As of this month, Activision has chosen to sue the government agency back.
Alegre was also in the position to manage and negotiate Microsoft’s acquisition of his company. He does deserve some credit for his role in helping make this happen, though the parties involved have maintained silent about these details.
While Activision Blizzard King’s president position had seem some changes through the years, Bobby Kotick had stuck around since the company as formed as its CEO. His position as figurehead may make casual observers assume he takes roles that are actually for the other leadership, there’s no doubt he’s been a key figure in the company’s direction.
Surprisingly, Kotick has been quiet about the acquisition. He did state early in January, when the deal was first brokered, that they took the offer because the money was good, but also because the company received assurances that their games would stay multi-platform.
That deal is now facing regulation challenges from different regions, the biggest of which is the lawsuit filed by the FTC. While this is more of Microsoft’s responsibility to handle, it is curious that Activision Blizzard King’s leadership is shifting hands at this time.
It may merely be a coincidence, but there are also possibilities, such as that the company is making preparations in case the deal does not go through. It’s also possible that position is being opened up for someone in Microsoft to go in in case the deal is approved.
For now, we wish the best of luck for Daniel Alegre in his future endeavors.
Source: GamesIndustry
