How did Blizzard fall into such a dire situation? What exactly caused this state of affairs?

The Vivendi era has ended, and 'Roast Dick' is gone too—let’s stay optimistic; maybe Blizzard will pull off something remarkable after all. Shanghai Blizzard had its 'Three Titans'; Blizzard globally also had its 'Three Titans': Mike Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce. All three were UCLA graduates—one handled operations, one was a designer, and one was socially anxious. In 2004, designer Allen Adham left, prompting Blizzard’s transformation from a single-player game company into an online gaming company. In 2018, 'Roast Dick' forced both Mike and Frank out, completely dissolving the trio—Blizzard devolved into little more than a cash-printing machine. I’m a PC purist: for me, Blizzard died the moment Allen left. The CEO of a game company must truly understand games.

The Journey of a Lifetime (VII)

Link to previous part: Tom Riddle: The Journey of a Lifetime (VI) After Walt Disney’s death in 1966, the company plunged into crisis. Both Walt Disney Studios and the animation division were performing extremely poorly. Fortunately, Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Orlando remained hugely popular, contributing nearly three-quarters of the company’s total revenue. In 1983, corporate raider Saul Steinberg attempted to acquire Disney—but the company narrowly avoided the takeover. The following year, to reverse the company’s fortunes, Roy Disney (Walt’s nephew) and Sid Bass (Disney’s largest shareholder) appointed Michael Eisner as CEO and Chairman, and Frank Wells as President. They then hired Jeffrey Katzenberg—who had previously worked under Eisner at Paramount—to head the Walt Disney Studios Group. It was Katzenberg and Eisner together who spearheaded Disney’s animation renaissance and triggered massive growth in consumer products. Later, Eisner realized that Disney’s theme parks had accumulated immense goodwill—a valuable asset. Simply raising ticket prices slightly would not reduce visitor numbers, yet would significantly boost profits. Then there was Disney’s IP portfolio: they began selling classic Disney films on videotape to parents who had watched them as children—and those parents, in turn, played them for their own kids. This became a billion-dollar business. Next came the 1995 acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC, primarily to bring ESPN’s 100 million subscribers under the Disney umbrella. All these outcomes confirm that Eisner was a brilliant, highly creative thinker and businessman—the architect who transformed Disney into a modern entertainment conglomerate. Serving as his second-in-command was an exceptionally rare learning opportunity. The author candidly admits that he gained extensive managerial experience here—and, even more importantly, deeply absorbed the core principles behind Disney theme park creativity and design. Yet over the next two years, Eisner’s oversight grew increasingly stringent. Many people complained he was an suffocating perfectionist and micromanager. Eisner himself countered: people underestimate the value of micromanagement. The author agreed—but also believed moderation was essential. Success often hinges on details, and Eisner, seeing nuances others missed, naturally demanded more. Greatness, after all, is frequently assembled from countless tiny details—and with Eisner’s guidance, the author came to grasp this truth ever more profoundly. In 2001, things began to shift. Apple announced that once users purchased music, they could freely copy and use it however they wished. Many—including Eisner—viewed this as a mortal threat to the music industry, and feared television and film would soon suffer collateral damage. As a staunch defender of copyright, Eisner immediately lashed out at Apple, accusing the company of openly challenging copyright law. Eisner’s stance greatly irritated Steve Jobs. Their friction, in fact, ran deep. As early as the mid-1990s, Disney and Pixar—then led by Jobs—had entered a partnership agreement. Initially, the deal heavily favored Disney over Pixar. Yet during the collaboration, Pixar’s reputation and influence soared with each successive film release, while Disney itself was steadily declining.

Avient (AVNT) Names Mike Frank as CEO, Signals Strategic Shift

2 days ago

Avient Corp has appointed Mike Frank as its new President and CEO, replacing Dr. Ashish Khandpur, while Richard Fearon assumes the role of Non-Executive Chairman. This leadership change signals a strategic renewal for the specialty materials company.

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