Following an organized strike by Activision Blizzard employees, calling for the immediate resignation of Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, as well as the resignation of several other key executives, a group of shareholders with a total of 4.8 million shares seized. has become requesting the same through a letter addressed to the board of directors of the company.
The most recent fallout comes from a Wall Street Journal report that directly implicated Bobby Kotick, stating that not only was he aware of rampant sexual misconduct in his company’s workplace, but he also chose to ignore and participate in it. , having staff The accusations brought against him date back to 2006.
Shareholders, led by the Strategic Organizing Center Investment Group, also called for the resignation of the two oldest directors on the board, Robert Morgado and Brian Kelly, who have served in that capacity since 1997 and 1995, respectively.
In the letter addressed to the board, the shareholders stated that if their demands to resign were ignored, and Kotick, Morgado and Kelly did not resign before December 31, they would choose not to vote for re-election of the current board at the annual shareholders meeting held in June, and that they would urge other shareholders to do the same.
SOC CEO Dieter Waizenegger said in an interview that Activision Blizzard needed a new CEO, chairman of the board, as well as a senior independent director with the experience, skill set, and conviction to truly change the company’s corporate culture. Activision Blizzard, citing and condemning the inability of current leadership to provide and maintain a safe workplace.
Additionally, in the letter addressed to the board, investment group SOC stated that, in contrast to previous statements from the company, Bobby Kotick was personally aware of many incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender discrimination at Activision Blizzard, but it failed to acknowledge or address the systematic nature of the company’s hostile workplace culture, as well as ensuring that responsible managers and executives were fired from their positions.
Although the investment group represents a small portion of the company’s total stock, with the recent stories and allegations against Activision Blizzard (including an explanation of why former Blizzard Entertainment co-director Jennifer Oneal left the company shortly after his new role being named), the public perception of Activision Blizzard has reached a new low, and other investment groups among the company’s shareholders may begin to feel the same way.
Only time will tell if this will lead to significant changes within the company culture, but through recent actions it has become clear that current leadership is only interested in addressing issues in a superficial way.
