President And COO Of Activision Blizzard Leaving To Head Up NFT Firm Yuga Labs

March 31st 2023. That's the date that the current contract for Activision Blizzard's president and COO expires. Having signed the deal in 2020, Daniel Alegre has been one of the few executives at Activision Blizzard, well, besides Bobby Kotick, that actually stayed in their position post-executive reorganization.

That comes to an end though as Alegre and Activision Blizzard will not be seeking to renew the contact. Instead, Alegre will depart the gaming giant and head for Yuga Labs as their new CEO.

Who is Yuga Labs? If you've been following the dawn, rise, and crash of NFTs over the past few years, you've likely heard of Yuga Labs even if you don't know exactly who they are. They're the blockchain company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT.

Yuga Labs' current leader, Nicole Muniz, will stay with the company as a strategic advisor and partner.

“Since exploding onto the scene with Bored Ape Yacht Club in 2021, Yuga Labs has quickly made a name for itself through a powerful combination of storytelling and community-building,” said Alegre.

@YugaLabs — home of @boredapeyc, @othersidemeta, @cryptopunksnfts, and more — is a creative powerhouse driving innovation and storytelling in Web3. I am extremely excited to lead the team to the next phase of growth. https://t.co/hS6O9DKhUT

— Daniel Alegre (@dalegre) December 19, 2022

The departure happening in March means that Alegre likely won't be around when and if the Microsoft purchase goes through as the FTC has already filed challenges to the deal.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.