Former Yahoo executive takes on CEO role at Guitar Hero

A former Yahoo COO, Dan Rosensweig, is stepping in to take over as president and CEO of the Guitar Hero franchise.

Rosensweig had some inside connections at Guitar Hero's parent company, Activision Blizzard. Activision's Chairman and CEO, Bobby Kotick served on the Yahoo board for years while Rosensweig was an executive.

Kara Swisher at All Things Digital hypothesizes that Rosensweig may have been drawn to the job because of his interest in returning to an operations position (he worked in private equity after Yahoo). It may also be because of his interest in music: He was an active player in the launch of Yahoo Music.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

A former Yahoo COO, Dan Rosensweig, is stepping in to take over as president and CEO of the Guitar Hero franchise.

Rosensweig had some inside connections at Guitar Hero's parent company, Activision Blizzard. Activision's Chairman and CEO, Bobby Kotick served on the Yahoo board for years while Rosensweig was an executive.

Kara Swisher at All Things Digital hypothesizes that Rosensweig may have been drawn to the job because of his interest in returning to an operations position (he worked in private equity after Yahoo). It may also be because of his interest in music: He was an active player in the launch of Yahoo Music.

"With a platform and content that universally engages a wide range of audiences, Guitar Hero has incredible growth potential. I look forward to continuing to develop Guitar Hero into an even more successful enterprise," he said in a press release.

Rosensweig will reportedly manage Guitar Hero's global operations, which will involve managing marketing, logistics, game development and hardware manufacturing.

He will undoubtedly be busy. Activision will release more Guitar Hero games this year, including a new game called DJ Hero for players who are into electronic music.