When lawsuits first made the public aware of the toxic, sexist, and even dangerous culture at Activision Blizzard, reports claimed the problems went “all the way to the top.” At the time, this pointed to then-President J. Allen Brack, who has since stepped down. Activision Blizzard replaced him with Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra, to co-lead the company. However, after only a month in the role, Jen Oneal announced she’s leaving the company, as she was being paid less than her new co-lead. In a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) interview, she said she had, “been tokenized, marginalized, and discriminated against,” seemingly implying she was offered the role to cover up Activision Blizzard’s sexism, while her compensation still showed the high-reaching bias at the company.
It wasn’t the first time this happened either, because, reportedly, Activision Blizzard’s problems go up to the CEO, Bobby Kotick. A report from the WSJ shows a history of behavior from Kotick that reflects the toxicity of his company. It includes claims he drafted the unpopular letter that caused revolt within the company, having a female employee send it out in his stead, firing a flight attendant for reporting sexual harassment to a business partner, and threatening to have an assistant killed over voicemail.
It seems Activision Blizzard’s rot starts not at the bottom, but at the top, like most issues with corporate culture.
CEO Bobby Kotick
Today over 500 current ABK employees and contractors signed a petition calling for the removal of Bobby Kotick as our CEO https://t.co/QP9sOJ76bK
— ABetterABK đź’™ ABK Workers Alliance (@ABetterABK) November 18, 2021
The Wall Street Journal report on Kotick (paywall) claims Kotick has shown a pattern of behavior not unlike the reports of abuse at Activision Blizzard. In 2006, his assistant claims he harassed and threatened her. She says that he threatened to have her killed in a voicemail. He settled that case out of court. In 2007, a flight attendant on the private jet he co-owned says she was sexually harassed. She complained to the other co-owner, and Kotick fired her. A spokesperson claims that it couldn’t be retaliation, as she went to the other owner, seemingly asking us to believe it’s normal for co-owners of a plane to never talk. Kotick settled that out of court as well, for $200,000, after an arbitrator’s decision.
After news of Activision Blizzard’s culture that was so abusive and toxic it may have contributed to one employee’s suicide, Frances Townsend, an executive at Activision Blizzard, sent out a tone deaf letter that didn’t appropriately address the seriousness of the issue. In it she seemingly criticized the Department of Fair Employment and Housing lawsuit. Employees demanded her resignation and for her to step down from leading the internal women’s group. As it turns out, she was Kotick’s PR shield. He had drafted the letter, not Townsend. At the time, he criticized it as “tone deaf,” despite writing it himself, something he wouldn’t admit until the damage had been done.
Questionable Decisions and Protection for Abusers
Outside of his own behavior, Kotick made questionable decisions involving others. In 2017, a female employee claimed Dan Bunting, then co-head of Activision’s Trearch studio, known for the Call of Duty series, sexually harassed her after a night of drinking. Activision Blizzard investigated, and reported that Bunting should be fired. Kotick reportedly stepped in and saved his job. Bunting retained his position until the WSJ began questioning the company, when he quit. The timing is certainly dubious, though it’s not certain that it was over the increased scrutiny. Why did Kotick allegedly move to protect someone who allegedly harassed someone, with enough evidence that an independent review claimed he should be fired?
Kotick has overseen all of the issues at Activision Blizzard, and reportedly knew about many of them. He has since brought in WilmerHale, a law firm with a reputation for “union busting,” discouraging employee organizing, to look into the company’s problems with discrimination and abuse. However, given the firm’s reputation, it may be to break up organizing occurring to change the problems from within, like A Better ABK. While intent is difficult to suss out, a union busting firm isn’t who you need for better diversity and inclusion initiatives.
The Future for Activision Blizzard
We have instituted our own Zero Tolerance Policy. We will not be silenced until Bobby Kotick has been replaced as CEO, and continue to hold our original demand for Third-Party review by an employee-chosen source. We are staging a Walkout today. We welcome you to join us.
— ABetterABK đź’™ ABK Workers Alliance (@ABetterABK) November 16, 2021
So far, the board, primarily composed of men, with only two female members, has stood behind Kotick. Employees, however, have instituted a zero tolerance policy. They want Bobby Kotick out. Kotick has said he’d consider stepping down if he doesn’t believe he can address the issues at Activision Blizzard, but his competency in this matter is—rightfully—under fire. Activision Blizzard’s stock value has dropped 30% since news of the company’s wrongdoings became public. 14% of that was just in the past week, with the Wall Street Journal report on Kotick’s own alleged wrongdoings.
Company culture trickles down. What executives allow their direct reports do translates into employee behavior at every level. This is a symptom of a disease in not only the entire tech industry, but the entire corporate world. Leadership is often a “boys club,” and issues like those reported at Activision Blizzard and even, apparently, carried out by the company’s own CEO, are far more commonplace as a result. When the rot goes to the top, it’s time to stop the problem at its source.