Following yesterday’s report that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew of sexual misconduct at the company, including instances of sexual assault and rape, a group of shareholders have sent a letter calling for his resignation.
First spotted by the Washington Post, the group of shareholders, who hold in total 4.8 million shares, or just 0.6% of the company, sent the strongly worded letter to Activision Blizzard’s board of directors. “In contrast to past company statements,” reads the letter, “CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of many incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and gender discrimination at Activision Blizzard, but failed either to ensure that the executives and managers responsible were terminated or to recognize and address the systematic nature of the company’s hostile workplace culture.”
The group is being led by the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) Investment Group, whose executive director, Dieter Waizenegger, echoed a similar message. “After the new revelations, it’s clear that the current leadership repeatedly failed to uphold a safe workplace–a basic function of their job,” said Waizenegger in an interview with the Washington Post. “Activision Blizzard needs a new CEO, board chair (Brian Kelly), and lead independent director (Robert Morgado) with the expertise, skill set, and conviction to truly change the company’s culture,” Waizenegger continued.
If Kotick doesn’t resign and Kelly and Morgado don’t step down from their positions by the end of this year, the shareholder group has threatened that it will not vote for the reelection of any current board members. Similarly, the group wants the board to immediately have a review conducted by an “independent expert in corporate governance” to “determine how and why the board failed to address the company’s ‘frat boy’ culture, as well as a “refreshment” of the board to “increase diversity and inclusion.” If Kotick remains in his position, the group is also demanding that his recent reduction in salary persists for five years and is renewed if “the stated workplace goals are not met.”
This isn’t the first time SOC has taken aim at a big gaming company. When it was formerly known as The CtW Investment Group, Waizenegger targeted EA’s executives, saying that the company had “gone too far in terms of executive pay.” Waizenegger also criticized Kotick for his salary in 2020. In 2019, Kotick made more than $30 million working at Activision Blizzard.
Despite yesterday’s report and another walkout at Activision Blizzard that hinges on Kotick’s removal, the company’s board fell in behind the CEO yesterday. “The Board remains confident that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention,” reads a message posted to Activision Blizzard’s investor site. Kotick himself is a member of Activision Blizzard’s board of directors.
Activision Blizzard first came under scrutiny after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleged in a lawsuit that the company had fostered a “frat boy” culture in which sexual misconduct and gender discrimination are commonplace. In the time since that lawsuit was filed, Blizzard’s president has stepped down and been replaced, Bobby Kotick has come under investigation by the SEC, and a class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company.
Source: Gamespot
