Next a damn new report claims Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has been negligent in notifying the company’s board of directors about the alleged abuse for years, a group of shareholders has called for his resignation. They say the company needs a new CEO “with the expertise, skills and convictions to really change the company culture”.
Report of the Wall Street Journal (requires free registration) claims that Kotick not only knew about some of the previous allegations, but also intervened in the past to prevent an alleged harasser from being fired and allegedly threatening to kill an employee. pellets.
Now, Washington Post report that a group of shareholders, led by the Strategic Organization Center (SOC) Investment Group, are calling for Kotick to step down, and that two of his oldest directors Brian Kelly and Robert Morgado will retire at the end of the year. . Otherwise, shareholders said they would not vote to re-elect the current board member at the next shareholder meeting in June.
After the WSJ’s allegations were made public, the ActiBlizz board of directors release a statement said the board “remains confident in Bobby Kotick’s leadership, commitment and ability to achieve”.
SOC CEO Dieter Waizenegger told The Washington Post: “Following these new revelations, it is clear that current management is consistently failing to maintain a safe workplace – a fundamental function in the workplace. their job. “Activision Blizzard needs a new CEO, board chair, and independent director leading with the expertise, skills, and beliefs to really change the company’s culture. We need to really have it. a reset button on the board.”
Under the leadership of Bobby Kotick, the company was accused of abuse, sexual harassment, rape and death threats made by Kotick himself. The board is also complicit if they let this slide. The time has passed for Bobby to resign. #EndAbuseInGaming #ABetterABK pic.twitter.com/4RYepNdDUc
– ABetterABK ABK Alliance Workers (@ABetterABK) November 16, 2021
It’s good to see people at the top take the helm of the company, and it seems shareholders aren’t the only ones. In an email sent to employees seen by Bloomberg (watch out for the wall), PlayStation boss Jim Ryan criticized Activision Blizzard shortly after the WSJ published their work. They allege that Ryan contacted Activision to express concerns and asked how they would deal with WSJ complaints. “We don’t believe” [Activision Blizzard’s] his report wrote.
Many Activision Blizzard workers have had enough of this mess, too, and held their second walk in four months on Wednesday, the Bobby Kotick claim was dropped.
