Early Career
Kotick began his career in 1983 while he was still in college at the University of Michigan, when he began creating software for the Apple II with financial backing from Steve Wynn. Kotick credits Steve Jobs for advising him to drop out of college to pursue his entrepreneurial interests in the software business.
In 1987, he tried to acquire Commodore International. He planned to remove the keyboard and disk drive from the Amiga 500 and turn it into the first 16 bit video game system. He was unsuccessful in persuading Commodore's then Chairman Irving Gould to sell control of the company. He subsequently purchased a controlling stake in Leisure Concepts, Nintendo's licensing agent, which was renamed 4Kids Entertainment.
Kotick and his partner Brian Kelly bought a 25% stake in Activision in December 1990, and became CEO in February 1991. Kotick also served as a founder of International Consumer Technologies and president from 1986 to January 1995. In 1995, International Consumer Technologies became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision.
Kotick was also a Yahoo! board member from March 2003 to August 2008, and is currently a board member for the Center for Early Education, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Tony Hawk Foundation.
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