Microsoft VP leaves to head up Wizards of the Coast

Microsoft Vice President of technical sales Chris Cocks will soon leave the company to become President of American game publisher and Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro announced yesterday in a press release. Wizard of the Coast currently publishes games and entertainment under brands such as Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons and Duel Masters and outgoing President Greg Leeds will stay on “to ensure a smooth transition to Cocks” according to the press release. President of Hasbro Brands John Frascotti added:

“We’re very excited to welcome Chris to the Wizards of the Coast family. As an avid fan and player with extensive digital experience, I’m confident Chris is the right person to help us build on the tremendous momentum around our brands and take the franchise to the next level by delivering exciting new experiences to our growing and passionate fan base around the world.”

Cocks, “an avid player and fan of Wizards of the Coast brands” led a global sales and technical engagement team at Microsoft for eight years and will officially join as President of Wizards of the Coast on June 6. The press release also mentions that Cocks previously had product management and marketing leadership positions in Xbox and MSN, and he also worked on hit franchises like Halo and Fable before serving as Vice President of Educational Games at LeapFrog.

We’ll see if Cocks will be able to use his tech background to bring all these in-person, tabletop role-playing games into the digital gaming world. Are you familiar with Wizard of the Coast collectible card games and role-playing games? Please tell us about it in the comments.