Shortly after the Infinity Ward fiasco that saw studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West shown the door, Activision Blizzard restructured its business into four business units. With the recently formed Call of Duty pillar joining Blizzard Entertainment as keystones, the publisher segmented its remaining games into owned properties and licensed titles. The restructuring was also accompanied by the resignation of Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith, who assumed the role of vice chairman at Activision Blizzard.

　　Eric Hirshberg With COO Thomas Tippl taking on Griffith's role on an interim basis, Activision Blizzard today announced that it had found a permanent replacement for the vacancy. Effective September 7, Eric Hirshberg will lead Activision Publishing's efforts as CEO. In his role, Hirshberg will oversee studio operations management, product development, and consumer marketing.

　　Hirshberg will be particularly comfortable in the last of those roles, having previously served as chief executive and creative officer at advertising and marketing firm Deutsch LA, which he has led for the past 13 years. Deutsch LA's clients have included a gamut of firms, from consumer electronics maker Sharp to car-rental service ZipCar. Deutsch LA has also contributed to Sony's popular "It Only Does Everything" advertising campaign for the PlayStation 3, featuring multi-hatted executive Kevin Butler.

　　Activision's new executive has also received a number of advertising awards. In 2007, he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Achievement and was named Western States Advertising Agencies Association Leader of the Year in 2002 and 2006.