In her past life, Frances Townsend defended the legal basis for the torture method known as skateboarding while George W. Bush’s War on Terror. In a more recent one, she helped lead the tone-deaf Activision Blizzard’s initial response to a major sexual harassment lawsuit of the state of California. Now she steps down as Call of Duty publisher’s chief compliance officer after less than two years in the position.
CEO Bobby Kotick announced the move to employees in an email on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal report. Despite his resignation, Townsend will remain as an official advisor to Kotick and to the Activision Blizzard Board of Directors, where Kotick chairs. This change in the company’s management structure came as Microsoft tried to convince regulators to allow them to buy its publisher. Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV for $69 billion by June 2023.
“She is tireless and has successfully navigated a challenging time for the Company with her leadership, conviction and grace,” Kotick wrote in the email, according to the company’s website. The Wall Street Journal. (Last November, more than 1,000 employees signed a letter call for him to resign.)
Others may disagree. Elevated on the board of directors to help Activision Blizzard navigate complex regulations globally, the former Bush adviser eventually became one of the faces the company took to account with allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment. Townsend became the messenger for the company’s extremely scathing rebuttal to a California lawsuit alleging pay discrimination, a “brother-and-brother” workplace culture and other issues.
“A lawsuit filed recently paints a distorted and untrue picture of our company, including inaccurate, old, and untrue stories — some words more a decade ago,” read an email from her work account largely defends the company and denies any legitimacy to the claims. It provoked a walk from hundreds of employees on Activision Blizzard the following week and Townsend even started blocking some of them on Twitter after they criticized her for posting an article against the accuser from Atlantic. In the end, she deleted her Twitter account entirely. However, The Wall Street Journal then reported that the original email from Townsend’s account dropped the lawsuit in California actually drafted by Kotick.
Activision Blizzard later changed its tune, announcing several new policies to try and address workplace issues and settling $18 million with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The ABK Worker Alliance team that has grown from the initial allegations continues to push for more reform and talks about how policies are developed and implemented.
Townsend could not be reached immediately, and Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Update: 9/30/22 10:30 p.m. ET: Activision Blizzard spokesman Rich George provided Kotaku with one Kotick’s copy of an email to staff about Townsend’s departure, but declined to comment further:
Team,
As we continue to move closer to completing our merger with Microsoft, I wanted to share some of the important updates we’re making to continue our commitment to workplace excellence, compliance our manager and administrator.
Effective October 1, Fran Townsend will move into a new role as Senior Advisor to me and the Board of Directors. In her current role as EVP of corporate affairs, Chief Compliance Officer, and Company Secretary, Fran has done a truly outstanding job — four jobs, indeed — with ongoing responsibility. Upgrading and exemplary work ethics. She has weathered a challenging time for the Company tirelessly and successfully with leadership, conviction and grace.
Fran has also done a phenomenal job in enhancing the strong compliance and governance programs we have throughout the Company. One of Fran’s most important contributions is empowerment and talent development, and we are pleased to announce that her deputies Jen Brewer and Luci Altman will both be promoted effective January 1. October.
Jen Brewer, who just celebrated her 10th anniversary with the company, is currently the Senior Vice President of Ethics and Compliance. Jen will be promoted to Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. Jen has over twenty years of legal and compliance experience. She has long been a key advisor to our senior leadership team and this well-deserved promotion recognizes her exceptional ability and dedication to making Activision Blizzard a great place to work. best. Jen will report to Chief Executive Brian Bulatao while continuing to work closely with me, Fran, Grant and directly with the Council’s Workplace Accountability and Auditing Committees.
Fran and Jen are committed to retaining and attracting talent to our world-class compliance team, with a diverse roster of top performers from organizations with leading compliance programs. such as Disney, Boeing, KPMG, Walmart, US Navy and some of the world’s best organized law firms.
For over ten years Jen has been a compliance leader at the Company where she has overseen and created innovative compliance and reporting programs, including our unique Way2Play Heroes program.
Leading our Way2Play team, Jen has worked for years with grit and determination to create our one-of-a-kind Way2Play Heroes initiative, which has grown from 75 Heroes to date. Today, over 140 Heroes ensure compliance with best practices across the company.
Jen remains passionate about maintaining the most welcoming inclusive work environment and ensuring continued investment and innovation programs so that we remain an example to other companies in our industry.
Luci Altman, currently Senior Vice President of Corporate Governance & Securities, will be promoted to Corporate Secretary. Luci joined us last year after more than thirty years of legal experience in private practice and leading corporations, and she has been instrumental in helping us maintain the highest standards of governance. company management. Building relationships with teams around the world takes time, and Luci has built strong, trusted relationships throughout the company during the pandemic, a task that has been no easy feat. Luci continues to play an important role in completing our merger with Microsoft. While much of Luci’s work is behind the scenes, we know she played an important role in ensuring we had best governance practices in place. She was involved in the creation of our 2021 ESG report highlighting our achievements in efforts to improve the environment through key initiatives such as reducing the use of plastic packaging and Our social and governance programs are rated best in class by independent reviewers. She will continue to ensure we maintain our commitment to excellence in all of our ESG initiatives. Luci will now report to our General Counsel, Grant Dixton.
We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to ensuring our governance and compliance programs are the model for our industry, and these personnel changes will help us maintain our momentum in the industry. there.
We are fortunate to have world-class professionals like Fran, Jen and Luci on our team – and I couldn’t be more grateful for the tireless work they do.
Thank you all for your shared commitment to the best workplace, your passion and commitment to continuous improvement, that’s how we will continue to make the best games in the world.
With respect,
Bobby
