Activision Blizzard: the CCO Frances Townsend leaves the role, after the controversy

Activision Blizzard: the CCO Frances Townsend leaves the role, after the controversy

Activision Blizzard

The Chief Compliance Officer of Activision Blizzard, Frances Townsend, has decided to leave her role in the company, remaining however available as a consultant for the board of directors, also following the numerous controversies that have affected her in recent months. br>
According to reports from Bloomberg, Townsend would have decided to abandon his role within Activision Blizzard before the eventual conclusion of the acquisition agreement by Microsoft, which is currently being examined by the regulators on the 'antitrust.

Frances Townsend, former CCO of Activision Blizzard Townsend was among the most criticized figures in the recent scandal on abuse, sexism and misconduct within Activision Blizzard, accused of having covered the cases that emerged in the company and the testimonies against the perpetrators.

Townsend has judged "distorted" and "false" the accusations brought against Activision Blizzard by the employees who brought forward the lawsuit, obviously called into question directly being in the role of manager of compliance with applicable laws of business practices, as a CCO.

In general, he maintained a rather ambiguous position on the situation, even after leaving the role of executive sponsor of the Women's Network of Activision Blizzard employees, at least according to several testimonials.

"Fran has done a truly exceptional job - actually four jobs - with continuously increasing responsibilities and a work ethic and simplify, ”Bobby Kotick told Townsend on news of his departure from the CCO role. Her place will be taken by Jen Brewer, senior vice president of ethics and compliance, along with Luci Altman, senior vice president of corporate governance.

In the meantime, just yesterday it emerged that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has officially begun its review process by the European Commission.

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Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is now being checked by European Commission

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  • Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard back on Jan. 18, 2022. 
  • The deal is worth almost $70 billion, and requires regulatory approval from numerous countries and authorities. 
  • One of the biggest authorities is the European Commission, which Microsoft has officially notified. 
  • The European Commission now has until Nov. 8, 2022 to approve the deal or trigger a more in-depth investigation.

    • As Microsoft continues to work to acquire Activision Blizzard, more and more regulatory authorities are being notified in order to examine the deal. 


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    Microsoft officially notified the European Commission on Friday, meaning that the Commission now has until Nov. 8, 2022 to either approve the deal or trigger a more in-depth investigation. If a 'Phase 2' investigation is triggered, then the European Commission will have 90 working days to make a new decision, though this can be extended slightly if any of the parties involved request additional time.


    This comes as the deal is already under closer examination from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA raised concerns over possible issues with competition arising from the deal, while Microsoft president Brad Smith stated that the company was ready to work with the CMA over any issues. 


    As part of Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard, the company will gain control over major franchises like Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft, as well as new internal development studios like Infinity Ward and Blizzard Entertainment. Microsoft has reiterated its intent to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, offering Sony three more years of Call of Duty games outside of the already-existing agreements that Sony has in place with Activision Blizzard.


    Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment and head of PlayStation, has stated that the terms of this deal would be 'inadequate' and has praised the CMA for looking further into the acquisition.