Activision Blizzard Chief Compliance Officer, Frances Townsend, who has previously criticized for her actions following news of the company’s sexual harassment lawsuit, has stepped down from his role at the company and will now serve as an advisor to the board and CEO Bobby Kotick.
According to the report of Bloomberg, Townsend chose to resign before the 68.7 billion dollar deal that, if successful, would see Microsoft acquire Activision Blizzard and many of its iconic franchises, including Call of Duty, WarcraftOverwatch, Diablo, etc
Image credit: Riccardo Savi / Getty Images for the Concordia Summit
As noted above, Townsend has been criticized by Activision Blizzard employees and others for her actions following the public announcement of lawsuit against Activision Blizzard alleging a “culture of fraternity” and sexual harassment.
After news of the lawsuit, Townsend called the allegations “misrepresentation” and “false facts”. Although she said her statement was made “following” the instructions of her legal counsel about the language and the end result was no longer her voice” After these events, Townsend from Executive sponsor of ABK Women’s Network.
Before deciding to leave, Townsend also served as executive vice president of corporate affairs for two years.
“Fran has done a truly outstanding job—four jobs indeed—with continually increasing responsibilities and exemplary work ethic,” Kotick wrote in an email shared with Bloomberg News. “Fran has also done a phenomenal job in enhancing the strong compliance and governance programs we have throughout the Company.”
Jen Brewer, senior vice president of ethics and compliance for Activision Blizzard, will take over the role of Townsend along with Luci Altman, senior vice president of corporate governance.
Prior to Activision Blizzard, Townsend served as a counterterrorism adviser to US President George W. Bush’s White House and a joint board member of MacAndrews & Forbes.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and more Convulsions.
