After conducting its personal inside investigation, Activision Blizzard’s Board of Administrators claims it has discovered ‘no proof’ to counsel that its senior executives and its personal members ignored or downplayed gender harassment. It is also urging its shareholders to vote in opposition to an upcoming proposal to craft a report about its personal efforts to forestall abuse and harassment.
In a brand new SEC submitting, Activision Blizzard asserted:
“[T]he Board and its exterior advisors have decided that there isn’t any proof to counsel that Activision Blizzard senior executives ever deliberately ignored or tried to downplay the cases of gender harassment that occurred and have been reported. That work additionally has not unearthed any proof, instantly or not directly, suggesting any try by any senior government or worker to hide info from the Board. Outdoors advisors, after exhaustive assessment, additionally decided the Board by no means deliberately ignored or tried to downplay the cases of gender harassment that occurred and have been reported.”
The preliminary criticism from the state of California, filed after a two-year-long investigation, accuses the corporate management of figuring out about and failing to forestall quite a few inside cultural points. Subsequent stories and lawsuits have equally included accusations that incidents have been reported and both ignored or brushed apart with little significant penalties for the perpetrators. After the preliminary slate of allegations, over 20 staff had been fired because of this by the next October, and over 20 extra had been in any other case disciplined.
Notably, Activision Blizzard’s committee response focuses particularly on harassment that “occurred and was reported” as outlined by the corporate.
Sweeping allegations in opposition to Activision Blizzard
The inner investigation in query was first introduced again in November, following a California lawsuit and a sweeping wave of allegations of abuse, harassment, and gender-related disparities on the firm. Amongst them was the accusation that CEO Bobby Kotick knew of lots of the points on the firm, however didn’t take motion. The Activision Blizzard board of administrators backed Kotick in a press release on the time, saying it remained “assured that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed office points delivered to his consideration.”
As allegations mounted, the board established a Office Accountability Committee to conduct its personal inside investigation of the allegations. The committee was run by Activision unbiased director Daybreak Ostroff, and fellow unbiased director Reveta Bowers additionally joined the committee. In April, 5 months after the investigation was introduced, Lulu Cheng Meservey was added to the board and joined the committee.
The committee’s investigative work is claimed to have included reviewing “particular person cases of harassment” in addition to firm insurance policies and procedures, reviewing supply paperwork reminiscent of worker emails and interviews, and conducting its personal interviews of present and former staff.
The committee claims to have labored with “the help of exterior advisors” together with legislation corporations and “specialists in office points” to come back to those conclusions, however has solely named one particular exterior advisor in its report: Gilbert Casellas. Casellas is a former chair of the Equal Employment Alternative Fee, and his function within the investigation is claimed by Activision Blizzard to have concerned reviewing knowledge from investigated stories of gender harassment from throughout the US between 2016 and 2021.
From these, Casellas concluded that “there was no widespread harassment, sample or follow of harassment, or systemic harassment at Activision Blizzard or at any of its enterprise models throughout that timeframe. Mr. Casellas additional concluded that, primarily based on the amount of stories, the quantity of misconduct mirrored is relatively low for a corporation the dimensions of Activision Blizzard.”
[T]he Board and its exterior advisors have decided that there isn’t any proof to counsel that Activision Blizzard senior executives ever deliberately ignored or tried to downplay the cases of gender harassment that occurred and have been reported.
No additional element was supplied as to what particular components of Activision Blizzard’s office tradition Casellas was supplied to look over as comparability factors to achieve this conclusion. IGN has reached out to Activision Blizzard to make clear who else was concerned on this committee in addition to what the character of Casellas’ contribution was, and can replace this text if a response is acquired.
Activision Blizzard’s conclusions about itself come forward of an upcoming assembly of shareholders throughout which quite a few measures can be voted on, together with a shareholder proposal to arrange a report about its efforts to forestall abuse, harassment, and discrimination. Activision Blizzard is actively urging its shareholders to vote in opposition to the compilation of such a report.
It is also discouraging shareholders from voting in opposition to a proposal for a director candidate to be added to the board that will be chosen by Activision Blizzard’s non-management staff. The latter proposal was steered, amongst different causes, as “notably useful in gentle of current allegations concerning sexual misconduct on the Firm. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick reportedly had recognized for years about alleged sexual assault on the Firm however didn’t inform the Board.”
Lastly, the corporate is advocating shareholders vote for approval of its government compensation package deal, which incorporates reverting Kotick again to his $875,000 annual wage after he lowered it final October to $62,500 amidst requires his resignation because of the allegations in opposition to him and the corporate. Kotick’s precise pay is often considerably increased as a result of inventory and quite a few different bonuses and awards, although he opted out of a number of of those final yr because of the work tradition allegations in addition to repeated criticism of his compensation package deal. Kotick stays eligible for a number of million in bonuses as early as July 18 if the board determines he has sufficiently made progress in enhancing the corporate’s tradition.
Rebekah Valentine is a information reporter for IGN. You’ll find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
