Major Leadership Shuffle at CD Projekt Red: CEO Resigns, Paves Way for Exciting New Chapter
CD Projekt Red CEO Adam Kicinski is set to step down from his current position and embrace a new management role starting in January Exciting changes await as Kicinski transitions within the company
Highlights
Adam Kicinski, CEO of CD Projekt Red, is stepping down and taking on a new role as chief strategy officer within the company starting in 2024.
Kicinski has been an integral part of CDPR since its establishment, having played a pivotal role in the company's accomplishments. This includes guiding the company to great success with The Witcher 3, as well as navigating challenges such as the troubled launch of Cyberpunk 2077.
Effective from January 2024, the current chief creative officer Adam Badowski and chief commercial officer Michał Nowakowski will assume the positions of joint CEOs at CDPR.
Adam Kicinski, the CEO of CD Projekt Red, will transition into a new role within the CD Projekt Capital Group, overseeing the activities and providing recommendations for the company. Having been with CDPR since its establishment in 1994, Kicinski played a crucial role alongside founders Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kicinski. Originally known as CD Projekt, the Polish studio focused on game localization, but later rebranded as CD Projekt Red in 2002 and released the first Witcher game after that.
Adam Kicinski has held various positions at CD Project over the years. He began as a marketing director in 1999 and progressed to become co-director in 2004, director in 2006, and finally president and CEO of CD Project Group from 2010 onwards. Throughout his nearly 30-year tenure, Kicinski has navigated the company through both successes, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's triumph in 2015, and challenges, including the notorious launch of Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020. However, the recent release of the Phantom Liberty DLC marks a turning point in the company's redemption.
In a significant change within CD Projekt Red's upper management structure, Adam Kicinski announced on October 5 that he will be stepping down from his current role and transitioning to the position of chief strategy officer starting January 2024. Current chief creative officer Adam Badowski and chief commercial officer Michał Nowakowski will then assume the joint roles of CDPR's CEOs, commencing on January 1.
In his new role, Adam Kicinski will be responsible for supervising the operations of CD Projekt Red and providing recommendations and making decisions within the broader CD Projekt Capital Group. Interestingly, in October of last year, CD Projekt co-founder and former joint CEO Marcin Iwiński also joined this same supervisory board - coinciding with the opening of a new studio in Boston by CD Projekt Red, aimed at assisting with the development of its extensive lineup of upcoming Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 games.
Adam Kicinski's announcement came at the same time as the news of Cyberpunk 2077 surpassing 25 million unit sales. Additionally, there was an announcement about a live-action Cyberpunk project that aims to build on the success of last year's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series. Kicinski, who has been a key figure in CD Projekt Red from the start, will be transitioning to a new role within the company he played a significant role in establishing as a prominent name in the gaming industry starting next year.
