With former president Mike Ybarra leaving Blizzard, new owner Microsoft was left with the task of filling those president-sized shoes, and it’s former Call Of Duty general manager Johanna Faries being tapped to do the filling.
As the company continues to restructure its newly acquired branch, Faries will be officially stepping into her new role on February 5, 2024.
President of game content and studios at Microsoft Matt Booty sent a memo to staff announcing Faries appointment, followed up by Faries herself with a statement sent to Blizzard’s staff that she then posted on Twitter.
“Over the last few months, I’ve gotten to know Johanna and she has impressed me with her thoughtful, considerate, and focused approach to leadership,” said Booty.
“Johanna brings with her very deep commercial and entertainment experience, a history of building talented teams and an inclusive approach of trusting the people around her so their work can shine…
I am excited to partner with Johanna and all of you to expand these treasured worlds, find new ways for people to experience them, and accelerate the impressive progress already being made.”
For Faries part, she addressed the teams at Blizzard in her statement and fans on Twitter, telling players that she is in “listen mode,” to indicate that she won’t respond on the platform but will monitor what players say.
“Though my official first day with you all is February 5, I want to let you know immediately that it is an honor to join you next week in this new capacity.
I do so humbly and in awe of all that Blizzard has stood for and delivered to the world for over thirty years,” said Faries.
“Today also brings some mixed emotions. The loss of talented teammates in recent days is hard to hold side-by-side with the immense excitement I feel about joining Blizzard – and building on the momentum you’ve created for Blizzard’s next chapter.”
Faries continues by speaking to potential concerns there may be around her appointment, mainly around the fact that her previous role with Activision doesn’t exactly have that much overlap with Blizzard’s portfolio.
She says she’s spoken to other members of Blizzard’s leadership about all this, and is stepping into the role “with sensitivity” to the different dynamics Blizzard has.
You can check out her full statement, below.
https://twitter.com/Joh_Burg/status/1752037469527388198
Source – [MauroNL3 on Twitter, Joh_Burg on Twitter]