business news Activision Blizzard: CEO Bobby Kotick still trustworthy? Millions of shareholders voted

Renewed confidence?

Yesterday was held annual meeting shareholders of Activision Blizzard. A meeting during which the shareholders were able to suggest some proposals such as electing an employee representative. There were five proposals in total, all of which were voted on. Through this official legal documentit is possible to see what were the subjects of this meeting. The first object of discussion was that of keeping the same board of directors for an additional year. The ten members were subject to a vote and all were renewed for 365 more days. All including Bobby Kotick, the current CEO of Activision Blizzard: 533,703,580 shareholders decided to re-elect him, while 62,597,199 of them expressed their disagreement.

With this vote, the shareholders have once again placed their trust in Bobby Kotick, despite the latest accusations against him. Last October, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that the CEO would have covered several cases of discrimination and harassment concerning his employees. Such a case had led to the creation of a petition on the part of the employees, wishing the departure of Bobby Kotick.

A vote for the preparation of a report on the company’s efforts

During this meeting, another interesting point was the subject of consultation with the shareholders: that of preparing a report on the company’s efforts to regulate and prevent abuse, discrimination and harassment. 379,308,934 shareholders were for the proposal, against 183,876,515. A report that nevertheless evokes the obligations of Activision Blizzard vis-à-vis the toxic culture in the company. In fact, the company reached an agreement last September with the US Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Agency (EEOC): in addition to freeing up funds ($18 million) for the victims, Activision Blizzard is also committed to updating its policy and corporate practices to prevent and eliminate instances of harassment and discrimination in its workplaces. A third-party consultant is responsible for observing the company’s commitment to this point.

Unless the situation turns around, Bobby Kotick will remain in place for the next twelve months at the headquarters of Activision-Blizzard. Last November, however, he indicated that he “would leave if he couldn’t fix the issues in place quickly“. The CEO has therefore recovered a period of twelve months to act, a period which should end with the acquisition of the company by Microsoft. An agreement signed at the beginning of the year and which further blurs the future of Bobby Kotick .