“I've learned a ton,” he said of his two years at Activision. “I had never worked somewhere that was digitally native. We had a great year in terms of sales. So I think it's a good time for me to move. And I'm moving because of the opportunity, not because of Activision.”
Activision Blizzard's net bookings rose 1.9% to $8.51 billion in 2022, while net revenue fell nearly 14.5% to $7.53 billion. A replacement for Machado at Activision has not been announced.
In a statement, the company told Ad Age: “Moving forward, our marketing teams will report directly to the business unit leaders to continue to drive the deep franchise expertise and relationships needed to achieve our go-to-market goals. We believe marketing decision-making and accountability at the franchise and business unit level is key to executing on our upcoming games slate.” The company added: “We extend our thanks and gratitude to Fernando for his creativity and dedication to Activision Blizzard.”
Machado, Ad Age's Brand CMO of the Year in 2020, added that his partner at Activision, chief creative officer Pelle Sjoenell, upon hearing of the NotCo job, was supportive of the move as well.
“He says, ‘If a spaceship from a different planet lands in your garden, you enter. You don't ask questions,’” Machado said. “When Matias and I started to talk, two or three months ago, it was like, ‘Yeah, the spaceship has landed. I have to get in.’”