Ubisoft Exec Leaves Company After Sexual Misconduct Investigation
Ubisoft executive Tommy Francois left the company after an investigation of his alleged sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior.
The video game giant confirmed that Francois left Ubisoft through an email to Business Insider.
On the other hand, sources told the news site that Francois was fired after an internal investigation on the sexual misconduct claims was done. They said he was not allowed to resign.
Francois was first placed on unpaid leave by Ubisoft in late June as the probe was ongoing.
There were claims that Francois's specific form of sexual misconduct was pressuring women into having relations with him in front of other people. He also kissed people on the lips and was fond of touching female colleagues.
A separate report from Insider also detailed some of Francois's actions. It said the exec would often massage people without asking and comment on how his female colleagues looked.
There were also claims that Francois had been moved between studios because of this behavior. He was transferred out of the Paris studio in the past, reported Forbes.
Ubisoft Execs Leaving this Year
Francois was the vice president of editorial and creative services at Ubisoft, according to IGN. He was the right-hand man of chief creative officer Serge Hascoet.
But Hascoet resigned from the company in July and left Francois to be one of the most senior creative minds at Ubisoft.
Hascoet and Francois are not the only Ubisoft execs to leave. Yves Guilemot, Ubisoft's CEO, also called it quits with Ubisoft through a July 31 email saying he has left.
A source from Ubisoft told the Insider that when Francois' left the company, it did not have any kind of financial settlement. But he can still keep any shares he has in the company.
If Francois was truly fired and not allowed to resign from his post on his own, it would make him the second Ubisoft employee known to be fired than be given the option to resign.
Former PR director Stone Chin said in a TwitLonger post late last month that the company dismissed him after years of accusations ranging from toxic workplace culture to sexual assault, which he denied.
In the past, news sites have tried to reach out to Francois for comment on the then alleged allegations made against him. He was also contacted to comment on the alleged firing but has not yet replied since.
News sites also reached out to Ubisoft for comment, but they have not heard from the company as of press time.
Resigning vs. Firing
Firing workers over misconduct can be a big deal for companies, as it may suggest that they took time to approach the actions done by its employee.
Guillemot himself was under a lot of pressure in his role in Francois' case. Financial analysts would question whether he was aware of the claims and, therefore, did not do something to end them.
In response to this, Guillemot said that each time the company was made aware of any kind of misconduct, they had to make "tough decisions" that also made sure it had a clear and good impact.
He also said he was also let down by the people who "betrayed the trust [he] placed in them and did not live up to Ubisoft's shared values."
Guillemot said he did not compromise his core values in his time in the tech company and did not plan to do so.
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