Report - Activision restructures senior management, forms new units

Activision has quietly restructured its senior management and divided itself into four units without informing investors or the public, according to an LA Times report.

CEO Mike Griffith has also been promoted to vice chairman, which will have him serving as advisor to Bobby Kotick.

Other job changes within the company include Thomas Tippl, former CFO and COO, who will now hold the newly created position of chief operating officer. Tippl's promotion was noted in an SEC filing last week.

"He is now the only executive reporting directly to Kotick and oversees Blizzard President Mike Morhaime and the head of Activision publishing, a role he is also filling on an interim basis," reports the LA Times.

This is the first big change the firm has made in the managing departments since Activision merged with Vivendi in 2008.

"This is an important change as it will allow me, with Thomas, to become more deeply involved in areas of the business where I believe we can capture great potential and opportunity," Kotick said in the memo to employees.

According to Activision spokesperson Maryanne Lataif, 15 unnamed employees were also let go last week.

"We realigned our structure to better reflect our slate and marketing opportunities and direct our resources against the largest most profitable business segments," she said in a statement.

Per internal memos obtained by the paper, Activision's divided itself into four units: One focused on Call of Duty; another handling other internally owned properties like Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk; a third handling licensed properties; and Blizzard being the fourth, remains an independent unit of its own.

Activision announced the new unit dedicated to Call of Duty in March after Jason West and Vince Zampella's departures.

The unit in charge of licensed games will be head-up by Dave Oxford, currently head of the Minneapolis office.

Maria Stipp, VP of owned properties, is now overseeing all internally owned titles besides Call of Duty and the ones made by Blizzard. She will also be in charge of new brands that Activision are eying for future growth. This includes Blur.

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