Tommy Francois, one of two Ubisoft Editorial Board members that touched off ongoing investigations into sexual harassment and a toxic workplace culture, has left the French games publisher.
Ubisoft is still reeling from allegations that began in late June. At the time, Tommy Francois and Maxime Beland became the targets of a Twitter campaign that mirrored the #MeToo movement. Former Ubisoft employees told their stories online accusing both Editorial Board members of sexual harassment, misconduct, and fostering a work environment that was absolutely toxic to women.
The accusations became so specific and numerous that Ubisoft was forced to place both Beland and Francois on disciplinary leave pending an investigation. That investigation is still ongoing and has since expanded into a company-wide reckoning.
Beland left Ubisoft in July but Francois held on until just today before his departure was announced. According to a report from Gamasutra, Ubisoft did not confirm whether or not Francois’ departure was due to his resignation or dismissal due to the investigation.
We can add Francois’ name to an expanding list of high-profile and high-ranking departures at Ubisoft. After announcing a company-wide investigation earlier in July, Ubisoft has since seen the departure of C-level executives, its global head of human resources, regional heads at Ubisoft Canada and Quebec, a PR director, and two members of its Editorial Board.
With so many of Ubisoft’s upper echelons leaving the company, CEO and President Yves Guillemot faced questions from investors during a recent earnings call about how much he knew.
“It has now become clear that certain individuals betrayed the trust I placed in them and did not live up to Ubisoft’s shared values,” Guillemot said. “I will continue to run and transform Ubisoft to face today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”
Since the allegations came to light, Ubisoft has begun sweeping reforms that seek to eliminate bad actors while instilling a new work culture. The French publisher will hire a new Head of Diversity and Inclusion and review its HR policies and procedures to take action when accusations come to light rather than try to stifle accusers.
Source: Gamasutra
