RobeRt KoticK
Chairman and CEO
Activision, Inc.
Robert Kotick acquired a controlling interest in Activision in 1990. At that time, Activision was an insolvent
videogame company with some $9 million in revenues; Mr. Kotick’s goal was to build the world’s most profitable
videogame company. Sixteen years later, Activision generated net revenues of some $2.7 billion and industry-leading
profits. Activision’s franchises have enabled the company to deliver compounded annual revenue growth of 24%
over the last decade, and compounded annual shareholder returns of 31% over the same period of time. Under Mr.
Kotick’s leadership, Activision announced an agreement to combine Vivendi Games with Activision, creating the
world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, will be valued
at $18.9 billion and is expected to have the highest operating profits of any game publisher. The transaction is
expected to be completed this year. Mr. Kotick currently serves as a director of Yahoo! and a trustee for the Center
for Early Education.
Jeff KowalsKi
Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
Autodesk, Inc.
Jeff Kowalski has extensive expertise leading Autodesk’s engineering and technology core teams, which identify and
execute strategic product opportunities. In his previous role as senior director of worldwide subscription programs
within the Strategic Planning and Operations Division, he was responsible for leading global policies, services, and
communications within Autodesk’s subscription business model. Formerly, he directed product development within
the company’s Collaboration Services Division, with primary responsibility for Buzzsaw and DWF. Mr. Kowalski
rejoined Autodesk in 2002 from Incremental Images, a company he co-founded to produce Reality Server, a highly
scalable multiuser collaborative design and visualization environment. In earlier roles at Autodesk, he was software
architect in various departments, directing development of 3D Studio MAX, HEIDI, and the AutoCAD graphics
system. He initially joined Autodesk in 1993 via the acquisition of Ithaca Software, producers of the HOOPS graphics
system. Mr. Kowalski holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer science
from Cornell University.
taRiq KRim
Founder and Strategic Advisor
Netvibes
Tariq Krim founded Netvibes.com, one of the most popular European web 2.0 startups, in 2005. The company was
named by Time magazine among the top 50 websites in 2006 and 2007 and as one of the top ten services that changed
the world by Business 2.0. The company was awarded a Crunchies for the Best International Startup in 2008. In 1993
and 1994 Mr. Krim wrote some of the first articles reporting about cyberspace and the Internet in France. Later as a
journalist, he reported for the French financial newspaper La Tribune in Paris and launched the paper’s Silicon Valley
branch. He left in 1999 to build l8rmedia, a blog-based media company to address a new generation of online readers.
Its main blog, GenerationMP3, attracts 1.5 millions monthly readers and pioneered the use of participatory journalism
in France. The French newspaper Libération listed Mr. Krim as one of the 50 most important people in the French
Internet industry.
tashi lassalle
Vice President, Strategic Development
Heidrick & Struggles
Tashi Lassalle drives new relationships, alliances, and joint ventures, especially in the technology space, on behalf
of Heidrick & Struggles’ CEO. Her primary focus is the intersection of talent and technology, and the changing
generational shift in leadership in the 21st century. In 2007, she architected the Global Talent Index, analyzing talent
as a scarce commodity across 30 countries. Collaborating with colleagues across more than 60 countries, Ms. Lassalle
now leads Heidrick & Struggles’ relationship with the World Economic Forum as its strategic talent partner. She is
named by Management Today’s 35 under 35 as one of leading business women from the U.K. in 2008. Ms. Lassalle
received a master’s degree from Cambridge University, began her career in politics at the House of Commons and the
Foreign Office, and is now based in New York.
