Anika Grant - who has previously held senior HR roles at Dyson and Uber - will also oversee “global recruiting, talent management, and leadership development” and reports directly to co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot. “I am very happy to welcome Anika Grant as our new Chief People Officer. Her energy, optimism and breadth of experience will be great assets to keep evolving our approach to HR and talent management,” Guillemot said in a statement (thanks, The Gamer). “Working alongside me, Anika’s mission will consist of aligning all our HR teams with a strong, shared vision, building a robust talent pipeline, and implementing innovative and new ways of working.” Grant will also work toward improving Ubisoft’s “organisational performance” and “innovating on strategies to develop talent”. Ubisoft was forced to remove several senior members of staff last year when multiple Ubisoft employees came forward with allegations of serious sexual misconduct. Many were accused of bullying, demeaning comments, retaliatory action, and sexual harassment. Ubisoft subsequently announced it would investigate all allegations made by employees - and audit its existing policies, processes, and systems with assistance from specialist external consultants, saying it was “fully committed to taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action”. Since then, the company has seen a number of high-profile resignations, departures, and suspensions involving senior management, including Splinter Cell and Far Cry creative director Maxime Béland, vice president Tommy Francois, marketer Andrien Gbinigie, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail, and Hugues Ricour, the managing director of the publisher’s Singapore studio, which is currently working on Skull & Bones. In an update on its “cultural transformation” shared towards the end of last year, the publisher said it had “put in place the actions and resources necessary to address these issues”, including compulsory anti-sexism and anti-harassment training, the recruitment of a new VP of Global Diversity & Inclusion, and the establishment of a Content Review Committee “to ensure that the Group’s content and product marketing is aligned with Ubisoft’s values of respect and fairness”. “I’m excited to be part of Ubisoft, whose mission is to provide opportunities for enrichment and self-discovery through innovative and original gaming experiences,” Grant said in a statement. “I am also incredibly proud to partner with the talented, passionate people at Ubisoft to deliver on this mission, and confident that together, we will continue making Ubisoft an employer of choice, one that offers its team members exciting challenges, a welcoming and open environment, and the freedom to express their creativity every day.”
