Bobby Kotick has announced that he will consider resigning as CEO of Activision Blizzard. This will only happen if he fails to solve the current problems quickly. Meanwhile, the company’s shares have fallen by almost a third since the harassment scandal began.The Cat made such a statement during a meeting with Blizzard Entertainment executives, The Wall Street Journal reports.
- The CEO of Activision Blizzard did not directly say about his resignation. However, he does not rule out such a possibility if the company does not manage to solve all the problems related to harassment and discrimination in the near future.The cat held meetings not only with Blizzard management, but also with the heads of all internal divisions of the company.
- At the same time, top managers assured him that some employees would be satisfied only with his resignation.According to the Cat, he is ashamed of a number of incidents that occurred in Activision Blizzard under his command.
- He apologized to the managers for not putting enough effort into solving the problems that arose.The Board of Directors of Activision Blizzard announced the creation of a special “Committee to improve working conditions”, which will monitor compliance with the chosen course.
- However, the board members refused to conduct a separate investigation into the Seal.It is worth noting that the board of directors of Activision Blizzard, in addition to the Cat, includes nine more people.
- Most of them are his close acquaintances and long—time business partners. Bobby Kotick took over as CEO of Activision in 1991 shortly after he acquired 25% of the company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy.
He earned a reputation as a scandalous leader, but managed to turn the company into one of the largest publishers in the world. In 2008, he also initiated the merger of Activision and Blizzard.
Meanwhile, analysts continue to lower forecasts for Activision Blizzard shares. On Friday, Truist Securities noted that the company needs to elect a new person to the position of CEO. Only in this case it will be possible to talk about positive changes.
According to the WSJ, Activision Blizzard shares fell by 14% after the publication of the latest investigation. In total, the value of securities has decreased by 30% since July, when the authorities of the state of California sued the company. At the same time, Activision is trying in every possible way to suspend the process of considering the claim.
Recall that last week Bobby Kotick was accused of hiding information about harassment. The Board of Directors then sided with the CEO, but over a thousand employees demanded his resignation.
The heads of two major platform holders have already spoken out against Activision Blizzard. Phil Spencer, who heads Xbox, announced his intention to renegotiate the terms of cooperation with the company. And Jim Ryan, the head of PlayStation, criticized the leadership of Activision Blizzard.