Bobby Kotick

Bobby Kotick (given name Robert A. Kotick) is the CEO and director of Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard is a large entertainment company that develops, publishes, and distributes video games for gaming consoles.

Before Activision Blizzard was formed in July 2008, he was the CEO and director of Activision since 1991. Kotick is also a member of the Harvard Westlake School board of trustees and chairman of the committee of trustees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where he serves as vice-chairman of the board of directors. Additionally, Kotick is the cofounder and co-chairman of the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit, public benefit corporation that seeks to help organizations that provide job placement and training services for veterans. From 2012 to 2022, Kotick also served on the board of Coca-Cola, and from 2003 to 2008, he served as a director of Yahoo!.

Leadership Live With David Rubenstein: Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick

During Kotick's time as CEO at Activision Blizzard, he has become a leading global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Kotick previously served as president of the company from July 2008 to June 2017. The company produces top games, such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

Microsoft announced plans to acquire the company in January 2022 and to keep Kotick on as CEO. The deal is expected to be complete in Microsoft's 2023 fiscal year after the transaction goes through various regulatory reviews. Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard's net cash. When the transaction closes, Microsoft is expected to become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

In 1990, Bobby Kotick bought a 25 percent stake in the almost-bankrupt company, Mediagenic, which was later renamed Activision. In February 1991, he became chairman and CEO of the company.In July 2008, Activision combined with Vivendi Games to create Activision Blizzard.

Bobby Kotick was an art history major at the University of Michigan but dropped out. During freshman year, he took computer science classes and started a company called Arktronics in 1983 with his friend Howard Marks out of his dorm room building productivity software for the Apple II. Steve Jobs came to visit and found out he was a college student and gave Kotick an ultimatum to quit college or lose the contract with Apple. So, he left college.