Activision Blizzard Shareholders Call for CEO Bobby Kotick to Resign - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 17 November 2021 / 1,891 Views
It was reported yesterday Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew for years about the sexual misconduct allegations at the gaming giant. Later in the same day over 100 employees staged a walkout calling for Kotick resign and be replaced with a new CEO.
A group of Activision Blizzard shareholder with a total of 4.8 million shares (out of roughly 779 million total shares) in a letter to the company's board of director obtained by The Washington Post have called for the CEO to resign.
"In contrast to past company statements, CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of many incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender discrimination at Activision Blizzard, but failed either to ensure that the executives and managers responsible were terminated or to recognize and address the systematic nature of the company’s hostile workplace culture," reads the letter from the shareholders, led by the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) Investment Group.
The shareholders are also calling for the two longest serving directors on the board, Brian Kelly and Robert Morgado, to retire by December 31. Kelly is chairman of the Activision Blizzard board of directors and Morgado is a lead independent director.
The shareholders said that if Kotick, Kelly and Morgado don't resign, they would not vote for the reelection of the current directors on the board at the next annual meeting in June 2022, and is urging other shareholders to do the same.
"After the new revelations, it’s clear that the current leadership repeatedly failed to uphold a safe workplace — a basic function of their job," said SOC executive director Dieter Waizenegger. "Activision Blizzard needs a new CEO, board chair, and lead independent director with the expertise, skill set and conviction to truly change the company’s culture. We need to really have a reset button on the board."
The SOC would like to see Kelly and Morgado replaced with more diverse directors and one of the seats to go to an Activision Blizzard employee that is not an executive.
Waizenegger added, "Votes against directors are very rare. Investors rarely take this step. You need to have a clear governance failure. And now we believe, we can point to not only an overpaid CEO, but we have very clear implications for recruiting talent at the company, and potential legal ramifications, with regulators like the California agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission … that’s an indication that something went very wrong."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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So the group of shareholders asking for his resignation only have 0.6% share in the company...
These kinds of protests from people that know what they’re doing are usually a sign of a growing movement gathering more support for their next step. Other shareholders might pay attention to this initial movement and their power to create change grows.
O good the demon might go and be replaced by a monster. Hurray!!!
Or did you guys think theese companies put saints as leaders?
Activision, in a proxy statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission last June, spelled out just how much it could cost to fire Kotick. And it could run as high as $265 million.
The numbers, which were current as of Dec. 31, 2020 and could have been adjusted in the months since, show a number of conditions and payouts for Kotick:
Termination for cause — $264,524
Termination without cause — $265,175,849
Um, that's kind of the point of being a shareholder; to make money. Why else would you buy share(s)?
Well sure. Probably most shareholders would do the same. If the man did even worse actions but the company kept financially flourishing from his leadership most of the shareholders would just ignore it because they are still making money. That's what capitalism is all about, making money, not worrying about what's the right thing.
Consumers should be the ones keeping companies in check for bad leadership. If enough consumers react by not buying their products, then the shareholders will feel the pressure to oust leadership. That's how the system works. Once there is enough people bothered by this situation then the shareholders will feel it in their pockets and pressure the CEO out. Until we as consumers stop buying their products in bulk, I don't see anything changing. The employees will eventually go back to work because they want to collect paychecks.
I didn't say nothing would change or that he is untouchable. I said the only way he could be removed is if enough consumers stop buying their products. That will trigger shareholders to want leadership change. And I actually think their revenue will decrease from this so I'm inclined to think this likely.
