Vivendi Names New Games Division Chief

Kenneth D. Cron has been named chief executive of Vivendi Universal’s games division.

Cron, 44, was formerly CEO of the Flipside Network, which includes Flipside.com and Iwin.com. He replaces Hubert Joly, who has become senior vice president of North American integration for Vivendi Universal. Cron also is a former president of publishing for CMP Media.

Since the merger of Vivendi and Universal in December, the French media giant has bolstered its games division. In March, it paid $60 million in cash for Uproar, an online game site. It also doubled the number of employees at Universal Interactive, which publishes games based on the “Spyro� and “Crash Bandicoot� franchises.

Vivendi Universal also owns Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra Studios, which is developing an online game based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings� trilogy.

Games generate over $350 million in annual revenue for Vivendi Universal.