Investment group claims Activision Blizzard CEO is still being paid too much

Shareholders have been asked to reject his new salary

An investment group has voiced its frustration with the high salary being paid to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

The investment group which represents shareholders at Activision Blizzard has criticised a revision to the salary of CEO Bobby Kotick, claiming that it is still unfairly high.

This follows previous issues with his salary that were highlighted earlier this year.

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After company shareholders publicly criticised the salary in March, Kotick agreed to cut his salary by 50% – while also signing an agreement that secured his job until March 2023.

The changes claimed that the proposal: “Reflects shareholder feedback, incorporates market best practices, and continues to directly connect pay to performance.”

The salary was reduced by $875,000 in value, and included reductions to his annual bonus that could total reductions of $1.75million.

While that may seem like a lot, the original pay package would’ve seen Kotick receive around $200million in bonuses.

Now, CtW Investment Group – which represents select Activision Blizzard shareholders – is claiming that the changes do not significantly impact his salary in the long-term.

CtW Investment Group is a union pension fund advocacy organization that “holds directors accountable for irresponsible and unethical corporate behavior”.

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In 2020, CtW Investment Group mentioned in a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that Activision “continually finds multiple ways to unnecessarily enrich its CEO“.

Executive director Dieter Waizenegger stated that the committee behind this proposal did not address “long-standing shareholder concerns” surrounding executive pay practices.

Those practices were spotlighted when Blizzard employees shared their salaries to protest wage disparities within the company.

In a letter addressed to Activision Blizzard shareholders, CtW Investment Group notes that because of the limited contract extension “the only full year for which Mr. Kotick will see a meanginful equity pay reduction is 2022”.

Waizenegger called on shareholders to vote against the proposal at a meeting next Monday (June 14).

In other news, Activision Blizzard plans to “triple” size of franchise development teams.

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