Activision Blizzard Board of Directors Continues to Build Upon Its Ongoing Oversight With New “Workplace Responsibility Committee” to Ensure Implementation of Initiatives to Eliminate Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace
23 November 2021 - 2:30PM
Business Wire
The Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) Board of Directors today
announced that it has formed a “Workplace Responsibility Committee”
(the “Committee”), initially comprised of two independent
directors, to oversee the Company’s progress in successfully
implementing its new policies, procedures, and commitments to
improve workplace culture and eliminate all forms of harassment and
discrimination at the Company. The Committee is being chaired by
Dawn Ostroff, an independent director since 2020. Reveta Bowers, an
independent director since 2018, will serve on the Committee. In
addition, the Company is working to add a new, diverse director to
the Board.
The Committee will require management to develop key performance
indicators and/or other means to measure progress and ensure
accountability. The Chief Executive Officer, Bobby Kotick, along
with the Chief People Officer and Chief Compliance Officer will
provide frequent progress reports to the Committee, which will
regularly brief the full Board. The Committee is empowered to
retain outside consultants or advisers, including independent legal
counsel, to assist in its work.
The Activision Blizzard Board is committed to ensuring a healthy
workplace in which all employees feel valued, safe, and respected.
Our Audit Committee has been kept apprised of developments,
including the EEOC and DFEH investigations. The Board supports the
numerous steps taken by management since 2018 to improve workplace
culture, including centralizing the human resources function in
2019 to ensure greater consistency and accountability,
strengthening and increasing training, and, most recently,
improving methods for reporting and responding to complaints of
harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Beginning in October,
the Board has been meeting bi-weekly for in-depth assessments on
related plans and progress and also now receives detailed written
weekly reports. The Board remains committed to helping drive
significant, additional improvements.
As announced on September 27, 2021, in an agreement with the
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the
Company, upon court approval of the agreement, will hire an EEO
Coordinator; that Coordinator will have a direct reporting line to
the Board. The Committee will engage regularly with the EEO
Coordinator and an independent EEO Consultant, who will be engaged
consistent with the agreement. The duties of these two separate EEO
functions will provide transparency both to the EEOC and the
Workplace Responsibility Committee.
While the Company, with the Board’s support, has been making
important progress to improve workplace culture, it is clear that
current circumstances demand increased Board engagement. Formation
of the Committee and additional future changes will help facilitate
additional direct oversight and transparency and ensure that the
Company’s commitments to Activision Blizzard’s workforce are
carried out with urgency and impact. This has been a challenging
time across the Company, but the Board is confident in the actions
underway to set the Company up for future success.
About Activision Blizzard
Our mission, to connect and engage the world through epic
entertainment has never been more important. Through communities
rooted in our video game franchises we enable hundreds of millions
of people to experience joy, thrill, and achievement. We enable
social connections through the lens of fun, and we foster purpose
and a sense of accomplishment through healthy competition. Like
sport, but with greater accessibility, our players can find purpose
and meaning through competitive gaming. Video games, unlike any
other social or entertainment media, have the ability to break down
the barriers that can inhibit tolerance and understanding.
Celebrating differences is at the core of our culture and ensures
we can create games for players of diverse backgrounds in the 190
countries our games are played.
As a member of the Fortune 500 and as a component company of the
S&P 500, we have an extraordinary track record of delivering
superior shareholder returns for over 30 years.
Our enduring franchises are some of the world’s most popular,
including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, World of Warcraft®,
Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, Diablo®, StarCraft®, Candy Crush™, Bubble
Witch™, Pet Rescue™ and Farm Heroes™. Our sustained success has
enabled the company to support corporate social responsibility
initiatives that are directly tied to our franchises. As an
example, our Call of Duty Endowment has helped find employment for
over 90,000 veterans.
Learn more information about Activision Blizzard and how we
connect and engage the world through epic entertainment on the
company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,”
“believes,” “potential,” “proposed,” “continue,” “estimates,”
“anticipates” “expects,” “plans,” “intends” “may,” “could,”
“might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of
future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking
statements. Such statements are subject to numerous important
factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or
results to differ materially from the Company’s current
expectations. These and other risks are described in the Company’s
periodic reports, including the annual report on Form 10-K,
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K,
filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission
and available at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements that
the Company makes in this press release speak only as of the date
of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, after the date of this press
release.
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