Seemingly out of nowhere, Activision Blizzard's controversial CCO, Frances Townsend, decided to step down from her position. Keep reading to learn more about what happened, and just why she is controversial.
Bobby Kotick, chief executive officer of Activision Blizzard, wrote an email to Bloomberg. In it, he states that Townsend had decided to step down from her role as Activision Blizzard's chief compliance officer. In the email, Kotick wrote that Townsend “did a truly exceptional job—actually four jobs—with continuously increasing responsibilities and the most exemplary work ethic”. He continues to say that she “has done an extraordinary job enhancing the strong governance and compliance programs we have throughout the Company.”
Although Townsend has formally stepped down, she would be keeping her role until Friday, October 7, 2022. Afterward, she will become an adviser to the board and to Kotick.
The controversy surrounding Townsend comes from two sources. The first was her history as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism under the Bush administration. The second was her response to the sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit that Activision Blizzard faced. The former involved her tour of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in 2004. Townsend reportedly pressured an officer in the prison to extract more information from the prisoners. Townsend denied witnessing prisoner abuse during her visit.
As for the lawsuit incident, it revolves around the time when the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing Sued Activision after two years of investigation. The lawsuit stated that the female employees were subjected to sexual harassment, as well as unequal pay. In response to this lawsuit, Townsend would also send an internal email. She claimed that the lawsuit “presented a distorted and untrue picture of our company, including factually incorrect, old, and out of context stories – some from more than a decade ago”. This led to the employees staging a walk out, and Kotick taking responsibility for the email.
Frances Townsend stepping down as Activision Blizzard's CCO happened just as Microsoft finalizes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Whether her stepping down is related to the acquisition, we do not know as of now.
If you are interested in learning more about the Activision Blizzard incident, we have a timeline of the events here.
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