SEC ❤️oil, Skydance ❤️ sexual harassment, and “masculine energy” company fails

Story of the Week (DR):

Skydance Adds Bobby Kotick and Laurene Powell Jobs to Board, Taps Tony Blair as Adviser

Former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Was Once Reviled by Gamers. Now He's Joining Skydance's Board of Directors

The crisis began in July 2021 when the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued Activision Blizzard, alleging a pervasive "frat boy" culture of rampant sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation

Initially, Kotick and leadership claimed they were unaware of the severity of the issues or blamed them on a few bad actors

However, in November 2021, The Wall Street Journal published a bombshell investigation that squarely implicated Kotick. The report detailed several severe allegations:

Concealing Misconduct: The report alleged that Kotick had known about multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and assault across the company for years. He reportedly failed to inform the board of directors about the severity of these claims, including alleged rapes and out-of-court settlements.

Protecting Accused Executives: In one specific instance, the HR department recommended firing a co-head of the developer studio Treyarch after an investigation found he had sexually harassed a female employee. Kotick allegedly intervened and overruled HR to keep the executive at the company.

Threatening an Assistant's Life: The report surfaced Kotick’s own history of alleged misconduct, including a 2006 incident where he left a voicemail threatening to have his assistant killed. A spokesperson for Kotick later admitted to the voicemail, claiming it was "hyperbolic" and noting that he had apologized and settled the matter out of court.

Private Jet Lawsuit: The WSJ also reported on an incident involving a private jet Kotick co-owned, where a flight attendant claimed she was sexually harassed by the pilot. When she complained, Kotick allegedly told her he would ruin her financially.

Kotick was never formally fired or removed by the board, instead his exit was orchestrated through a massive corporate buyout.

Amid plummeting stock prices and reputational damage, Microsoft swept in to buy Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion in January 2022.