D&D: New WotC President Comes From Microsoft
Now that Chris Cocks is being promoted to the CEO of Hasbro, WotC has a new president in town.
There’s a lot of buzz around D&D and Wizards of the Coast right now. Former WotC president Chris Cocks has stepped up to the top job at Hasbro. But now a new President has been appointed at Wizards of the Coast, Cynthia Williams, formerly of Microsoft.
At Microsoft, Williams served as General Manager and Vice President for the Gaming Ecosystem Commercial Team. Hasbro credits Williams with driving “the expansion of Xbox Gaming and the acceleration of game-creator growth.” Before that, Williams spent more than a decade at Amazon.
This move falls in line with Hasbro’s overall plans for Wizards of the Coast to head up their digital empire. You might recall last year, when WotC leveled up with a new logo and digital direction. Hasbro has repeatedly sad that video games are the future of WotC.
Cocks spoke about Williams’ appointment in an announcement on Hasbro’s investor page:
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Cynthia and Tim to the Hasbro family. They join at an exciting and dynamic time, and Wizards of the Coast – as well as all of Hasbro – will greatly benefit from their skills and experiences. Cynthia brings a deep understanding of technology and e-commerce, along with cloud and console-based gaming. She has a proven track record, across both Microsoft and Amazon, of scaling businesses to drive profitable growth. Her experience is highly complementary to Tim’s, who brings to Wizards unmatched production experience and a demonstrated ability to accelerate the growth of brands in mobile gaming.”
The Tim in question here is Tim Fields, one-time CEO of Kabam Games, and whom Hasbro has appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Gaming at WotC.
Future Plans for WotC
But Hasbro revealed more than just a new president. Cocks gave a glimpse at his plans for WotC and Hasbro in general:
“I am extremely proud of our team and the great successes we’ve had across our Wizards of the Coast and digital gaming business over the last five years, and also of the IP we’ve created to attract top talent in our space. As I transition into my new role as CEO of Hasbro later this month, I am excited to partner with Cynthia and Tim, working together to expand our fan base, deliver across the Brand Blueprint and activate our significant investments in the business to become the world’s leading fantasy-inspired gaming publisher on all platforms.”
Becoming the leader in fantasy gaming is no mean feat. D&D is already the biggest name in RPGs. But video games? There’s a lot out there. Dragon Age, Dark Souls, Divinity–and that’s just the surface. Williams, Fields, and Cocks will have their work cut out for them. But as D&D moves into a more digital age, the future looks bright indeed.
Happy Adventuring!
