Brian Bulatao is a Partner with CNQ Group, a US-based strategic and financial advisory and investment firm dedicated to partnering with the world’s leading strategic companies across a range of industries and geographies. He currently serves as an Independent Board of Director for American Century Investments, the Call of Duty Endowment, the Global War On Terrorism Memorial Foundation, and also serves as a senior advisor to McKinsey & Company.
Most recently, Brian served as Chief Administrative Officer for Activision Blizzard Inc, one of the world’s largest interactive entertainment companies, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia and home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and Candy Crush™. Brian led the post-merger integration for Activision Blizzard following Microsoft’s transformative $69 billion acquisition of the company.
At Activision Blizzard, Brian was responsible for managing key platforms for growth to include Talent acquisition, Human Capital Management, Information Technology, Workplace/Real Estate, Information/Cyber and Physical Security, Consumer Products Group, Global eSports and European Distribution and logistics business. He also led Compliance, ESG and Corporate Social Responsibility efforts and served as the Executive Sponsor for the Call of Duty Endowment and the Veterans Employee Network.
Prior to Activision Blizzard, Brian served as Under Secretary of State for Management at the U.S. Department of State, spearheading the historic repatriation effort to bring home more than 100,000 citizens traveling or living abroad in more than 130 countries as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe. He had responsibility for the Joint Strategic Plan, global talent management, diplomatic security, consular affairs and leading the State Department’s contingency and crisis response efforts.
Prior to joining the State department, Brian served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency. In this capacity, he collaborated with the Director and Deputy Director of the CIA to provide overall leadership to the Agency, foster alignment, agility and mission success. He had portfolio responsibility for several directorates that created and applied innovative technology in support of the intelligence collection mission and focused on accelerating innovation across the Agency’s mission activities with innovative digital and cyber tradecraft and IT infrastructure. He was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Director’s Award in recognition of his significant contributions to national security.
Before joining the CIA, Brian worked in the Private Equity industry, both as a founding partner and senior advisor, and focused on middle market growth buyouts. Brian previously served as the CEO and President of several market-leading companies in the manufacturing, logistics and business service sectors. In the non-profit sector, Brian has held leadership positions on several boards, including Chair of the Board of Trustees of one of the largest technical colleges in the Midwest.
Upon graduation from Harvard Business School, he joined the Atlanta office of McKinsey & Company and served Fortune 500 clients in the transportation, telecommunication, and basic materials industries. Early in his career, Brian served as an airborne infantry officer leading units on several contingency operations across the globe and was an honor graduate from the US Army Ranger School.
Brian holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He is also a distinguished graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management.