Activision Agonistes and the Wisdom of John Doerr
Good afternoon and welcome back to The Daily Courant, highlighting all of latest and most noteworthy journalism being produced at Puck. Today, Dylan Byers relays the inside-the-room conversation regarding the future of Activision C.E.O. Bobby Kotick, the billionaire video game mogul who now stands accused of burying sexual misconduct allegations at his company. The media is calling for "fresh blood" but people who know Kotick say he isn't going anywhere.
Plus, below the fold, William D. Cohan reconsiders the plight of the Tesla bears and reveals what's really driving Larry Culp's vivisection of GE.
Amid federal and state investigations, allegations of a “frat boy” culture, and a damning report in the Journal, Activision employees have staged a walkout, and the media has called for a blood sacrifice, as Logan Roy might say. But the Sun Valley crowd thinks Kotick isn’t going anywhere—yet. The Bobby Kotick story isn’t well known outside of business and gaming circles, but in terms of sheer narrative drama it’s probably deserving of the Hollywood treatment. Thirty years ago, after launching a tech company in his dorm room, securing an investment from Steve Wynn (in a casino basement), and then dropping out of college on the advice of Steve Jobs, Kotick raised $400,000 to buy an insolvent gaming company. Today, that company, Activision Blizzard, is worth $52 billion, has nearly 10,000 employees, and produces some of the most popular video games on the planet. Herb Allen III, the president of Allen & Company, has called it “one of the great success stories of all time.”
How does the story end? We’re about to find out. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal published a damning report alleging that Kotick was long aware of sexual misconduct allegations at his company—despite his claims to the contrary—and failed to inform his board. The report also says that Kotick intervened to save an employee from being fired for alleged sexual harassment despite the recommendations of his human resources department and other supervisors. And while Kotick himself is not accused of sexual misconduct, there are two allegations of him making threatening remarks toward women: one to an assistant, another to a flight attendant on his private jet.
These revelations, which come amid an S.E.C. investigation into the company’s handling of sexual misconduct, as well as a lawsuit from the state of California concerning Activision’s “frat boy” culture, have left the Sun Valley set speculating over their friend’s future. At Activision headquarters in Santa Monica, around 100 staffers staged a walkout demanding Kotick’s resignation. Vox Media’s gaming news site Polygon also called on Kotick to resign, while The Information concurred that it was time for “fresh blood at the top”...
FOUR STORIES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 
Kathleen Kennedy is one of the most prolific producers in Hollywood. But it's time for someone else to manage the franchise. MATTHEW BELLONI 
Time will tell whether the University of Austin becomes the next Hillsdale, the next Yale... or a brick-and-mortar Substack. TINA NGUYEN 
The legendary venture capitalist turned climate evangelist defends his philanthro-capitalist climate change realpolitik. TEDDY SCHLEIFER 
Culp is not only the first outsider to lead GE, he is also the first GE C.E.O. to have an employment contract. And what a doozy it is! WILLIAM D. COHAN 
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