Rod Cousens appointed CEO at Acclaim

Publisher Acclaim has announced the appointment of president and COO Rod Cousens to the role of CEO, replacing company co-founder Greg Fischbach, who has resigned from the position after holding it since 1987.

Fischbach will remain on the board of directors of the publisher, and will also continue to serve as co-chairman of the company. The appointment confirms Cousens' position as the man tasked with turning Acclaim around after a difficult few years which have seen both financial and development problems, culminating recently in the filing of class action suits against the publisher by its own shareholders.

"During the last five months, I have driven the process for our organization to adopt and implement a new global operating plan that is heavily focused on improving our core business practices, including reducing operating expenses, realigning our brand-driven product development strategy and managing our position at retail," commented Cousens following his appointment.

"While this is an ongoing process, I believe that we have completed the foundation-building first phase that has set the stage for how we will conduct our business on a daily basis going forward. I will continue to strengthen our management team with leaders that are dedicated to this new structure, who possess the singular end-goal of facilitating our future growth and returning the organization to profitability."

"I am very pleased to have Rod appointed as my successor," said Fischbach. "Given his impact on our organization since the beginning of this calendar year, I am confident that he will continue to utilize his industry knowledge and leadership skills to benefit the organization."

The appointment of Cousens to the role of CEO takes effect immediately.