Like the best soap operas, the Activision Blizzard affair continues to hold an industry in suspense, and viewers wonder how much longer CEO Bobby Kotick can hold out.
Today things are even more difficult. While Activision is allowing Blizzard a potential appeal for breach of its fiduciary duty in Los Angeles Superior Court for promoting sexist policies that allow harassment and income inequality, another is for “inability to record employee history and the termination of two “years after her departure” (aka “destruction of documents”) and finally for the fact that the investigations that have been taking place in the company since 2019 have been concealed, new protagonists go into the round.
Call to radicalism
Today the news page Axios Indeed, we learn that the pressure around Activision Blizzard and its CEO Bobby Kotick is still mounting, still hanging on his seat as much as a clam hangs on his rock. In a joint swing, the state treasurers of California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon, Delaware and Nevada called for “radical changes” within the company:
We are concerned that the current CEO and directors do not have the skills or the conviction to make these radical changes necessary to transform the company’s culture and restore confidence among employees, shareholders and their partners.
In this case, the Board of Directors must intervene and open an investigation. A real investigation done by a third party. Two weeks ago, the same board of directors reiterated their support for the CEO.
While some may wonder about the Federation Treasurers’ interest in acting, some states recall that they invested in Activision Blizzard and that the continued decline in the stake is obviously affecting them. Since the revelations this summer, Activision Blizzard’s share price has fallen nearly 37%, from $ 90 to $ 57. Concerned not to be seen as simple investors who only care about their finances, the treasurers made it clear that they also care about the working conditions of their employees.
The law of the series
For her part, analyst Jessica Gonzalez announced her departure from Activision Blizzard two days ago, without forgetting to speak directly to her future ex-boss:
To Bobby Kotick, your inaction and inability to take responsibility drives away a lot of talent and production will suffer until you step down as CEO. It may sound harsh, but you have had years to put an end to this culture. See where the company is today.
Last week, Bobby Kotick spoke for the first time about his possible resignation in the event he fails to resolve a list of problems and allegations as long as the arm …