The Kotick dusk? Activision-Blizzard CEO knew for years about sexism
Robert A. Kick (born 1963) is an American businessman that presently acts as the president (CEO) of Activision Blizzard. He was the head of several innovation companies early in his profession. He bought a stake in Activision in 1990 and also became chief executive officer the next year. Kick crafted the Activision Blizzard merger, as well as he came to be CEO of the combined business in 2008. He gets on several business boards. From 2003 till 2008, he was a director at Yahoo!. In February 2012, he became a non-executive supervisor of The Coca-Cola Firm. He has also offered on the board of the Phone call of Obligation Endowment (CODE) because he co-founded the company in 2009.
The shit storm does not want to end. The latest developments in the scandal around sexism and harassment at Activision Blizzard are the least hair-raising. Already after the first allegations became published, there were rumors and speculation on the role of CEO Bobby Kick in the scandal. How much had he known from the transactions at Blizzard and Activision and if he knew what had he been doing? As the Wall Street Journal reports, Kick actually knew a lot of transactions.
The lawyer of a former employee of Sledgehammer Games, a studio belonging to Activision, explained, for example, via e-mail that its client was raped by a male supervisor after it had been pressed under a company event, a lot of alcohol consume.
The former employee had reported the incident of the HR department and reported other supervisors. There were no consequences. After threat of a lawsuit Activision agreed with the former employee by extrajudicial comparison. However, Bobby Kick did not inform the company s board about the incidents and the extrajudicial comparison.
The past months were turbulent for Activision Blizzard: however, Bobby Kick had always asserted the Management Board and executives that he had no knowledge of allegations. Newly objected documents allegedly present to the Wall Street Journal are drawing a different picture. These documents, mails, memos, inquiries to authorities and talks with employees or persons who are close to the company should show that he knew about the allegations and misconduct. And they also show that he did not tell the board everything he knew. Even after the supervisory authority had started in 2018 with the investigations and some employees left the company due to their behavior, other employees were asked to silence the matter.
What happened before the indictment of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and what developments occurred in the days after the recognition of the lawsuit, we have summarized for you in the following video.
Bobby Kick wrote the disturbing mail from Fran Townsend
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German Depression Assistance was ultimately the result of a year-long ignorance of those responsible for the massive complaints of female employee. It was about harassment, discrimination, a culture of fear and much more. Even after publicity of the indictment, Kick tried internally to destroy the allegations. An outcry of the outrage caused in this context the mail from Fran Townsend, which, how, according to Wall Street Journal is now allegedly turned out, was written by Bobby Kick. In the mail was from a -distorted and unknowing image of the company the speech, the allegations were discontinued as a stressed. Later, Kick ruled back and described the mail from Townsend as inappropriate.
The board was surprised by the allegations and the action. Finally, disturbing details came to the daylight. An Activision employee had killed himself after an intimate photo of her had been circulated on a company celebration. On demand by the Executive Board, why they had not known about it, Kick assured that the cultural problems of the past had belonged and were based exclusively at Blizzard Entertainment. Only recently, Kick had still assured in an interview that he had provided sufficient and appropriate information to the members of the Executive Board: I put myself a lot for us to offer one of the most pleasant and integrative jobs in the industry.
Elaine Alaska, the spokeswoman of Activision wrote that Kick would not have been informed about any misconduct in the company of Activision Blizzard and one could not expect that he was informed about all personnel matters. The Executive Board of Activision also explained in a statement sent by Alaska that er was informed at any time on the state of regulatory investigations and that Mr. Kick did not say that the problems had occurred only at Blizzard.
After the Wall Street Journal had turned to Bobby Kick questions in October, he asked the Executive Board to reduce its salary of $154 million on an annual total compensation of $62,500. In addition, zero-tolerance policy should be introduced in harassment and creating a conciliation instance for all problems of this type. In August, Jennifer Oneal appointed the first woman at the top of one of the business units of Activision Blizzard. Already directly to the start, she had expressed her lack of confidence in the Activision leadership to sustainably change the corporate culture. This is out of an e-mail, in which Oneal also writes that she had already been sexually harassed in her career and less deserves than her male colleagues on the same position.
Blizzard s Co-Chief Jennifer Oneal throws
Now the degree was obviously full, the Oneal stops. She had also described a party in her mail, in which Bobby Kick was also present in 2007, and danced on the half-naked women on Stripper rods. Female employees have been motivated to drink more alcohol so that all The men are better amused. According to Activision spokeswoman Alaska, Kick can not remember such a party. Oneal declared her departure from the company that she has made the decision that is best for her family.
What s going on with Bobby Kick?
Of course, Activision Blizzard has reported to the article of Wall Street Journal.
We are disappointed about the report of the Wall Street Journal, which draws a misleading picture of Activision Blizzard and the CEO. He responded to cases of sexual misconduct that has been brought to him. [...] the constant desire to get better, this company has always excellent. That s why we have made significant improvements under the direction of Mr. Kick, including a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior. [...]
More and more allegations: Kick is supposedly threatened with death
One of the amendments addressed is that the HR department has been subordinate to the company headquarters since 2019. Before it was due to the old structure that employees had behaved in a universal manner. According to insiders, Kick was always informed and informed at any time if there were major problems with individual developer studios.
Dan Bunting, Co-Head of the Activision Studio Trey arch, was accused of an employee to have sexually harassed. Kick also wanted him after an internal examination, who recommended, to fire bunting, but retain as a staff. Kick did not inform the Executive Board about the e-mail in which the Sledgehammer was accused of games employee of rape. The accused developer of Sledgehammer also harassed another woman. After all, Activision fired the employee after two months.
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The lawyer of the former employee sent Kick another e-mail, in which the Sled Housing Employee Eduard Erich was accused of sexual harassment. He was punished with a paid vacation and could then continue working in a different position. About the incident should be preserved silence. Over the years allegations against Kick themselves have become clear. The most drastic is that in 2006 he threatened one of his assistants with death. In 2007 he was sued by a flight attendant he had allegedly bothered sexually. Allegedly, he had declared the flight attendant after that he will She destroy. His spokesman demonstrates that. There was a comparison and Kick paid the flight attendant 200,000 US dollars.According to Wall Street Journal, Kick has denied many of the current allegations. Meanwhile, employees organize a renewed Walkout to demonstrate against the leadership. The calls after the resignation of Bobby Kick will always be louder. So is that actually the kick dusk? Through massive public pressure, Kick s career at Activision Blizzard could actually be in danger. The stock prices of Activision Blizzard broke again. Kick had been compromised yesterday in a video statement to the allegations. We will keep you up to date.
From Maria Beyer-Fistrich Brand / Editorial Director 17.11.2021 at 12:22
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