Oculus appoints former Activision development head as COO

Former senior vice president and head of development at Activision, Laird M. Malamed, has joined the virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR as its chief operating officer, according to a press release from Oculus.

As COO and a member of the board of directors, Malamed will oversee "legal, finance, IT, logistics, hardware and HR functions," according to his online resume.

"The opportunity to join Oculus and build the future of virtual reality gaming was too exciting to pass up," Malamed said. "I look forward to being part of the team, creating a completely new medium for the video game industry and its many potential applications for the future."

While at Activision, Malamed managed franchises like Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and Skylanders. Since leaving Activision in Dec. 2011, he taught at USC's School of Cinematic Arts and performed consulting work focused on bringing his "knowledge and experience to the [education] space," according to his website.

The Oculus Rift's successful Kickstarter campaign concluded last September with $2,437,429, well over its initial goal of $250,000. At the end of November, Oculus delayed shipping the first headsets from December 2012 to March 2013, which the company blamed on overwhelming demand.