Rob Pardo has worked in the game industry as a game designer, executive, and producer for over 20 years. For most of his career he worked at Blizzard Entertainment, where he most recently served as their Chief Creative Officer. Pardo is best known for his work as the lead designer on StarCraft: Brood War, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft.
Based on the achievements of Blizzard games under his direction, Pardo was recognized by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world; in addition, The Wall Street Journal named him as one of the top 25 power players in the game industry. During his time at Blizzard, Pardo was fundamental in building the game design department and culture within the company, and served as a mentor to all the senior designers within the studio. Before he left the studio in 2014, he was able to launch Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft as the executive producer.