Codemasters Appoints New CEO And COO

Officials from British-headquartered publisher Codemasters have announced the appointment of ex-Acclaim boss Rod Cousens as Chief Executive Officer and fellow Acclaim veteran Ton Williams as Chief Operating Officer. Codemasters has seen considerable activity since the acquisition of 40 percent of the company by venture capital firm Benchmark Capital Europe in April, with the company recently announcing it would be looking to sign new content at E3 using its new sources of funding, and this change of management was likely aided by its new backers. Cousens will replace co-founder David Darling, who will remain as chairman of the company and also take on the role of Chief Creative Officer. This will include developing proprietary game content as well as targeting further distribution formats, such as mobile applications, Internet and massively multiplayer online products. Having worked in the games industry for over twenty-five years, Cousens was most recently with Acclaim Entertainment, which he joined in 1991 and became President of Acclaim Europe in 1993, going on to become Chief Operating Officer of Acclaim International and CEO of Acclaim Entertainment in 2003 before the company shut down last year. Cousens began his career in 1981 with the founding of games publisher Quicksilva. He went on to become UK Managing Director and later President International of Activision. Following the collapse of Acclaim last September, he had been connected to attempts to resurrect the company’s UK operations as a new studio, but these efforts appear now to have failed. Williams brings eighteen years of experience to the company, having previously held senior positions at Acclaim Entertainment and was COO and Co-Chairman of Take-Two Interactive. At Take-Two he oversaw the acquisition of BMG Interactive and its Grand Theft Auto property. He was most recently Managing Director and Vice Chairman of BAM! Entertainment, another company that has run into financial problems in recent months. According to Codemasters chairman David Darling: "We are putting the pieces in place for longevity and growth as we take the company to the next stage. We are building financial and management strength, enabling us to expand our product innovation and game development. I am immensely pleased in welcoming Rod and Tony to the Codemasters family. Their experience and achievements in the global video game markets will be hugely valuable for our company as part of its global expansion."