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Activision Plans to Fire CFO Neumann, Puts Him on Paid Leave

Neumann will be on leave pending an opportunity to demonstrate why he shouldn’t be let go, company said in a regulatory filing.

Activision Plans to Fire CFO Neumann, Puts Him on Paid Leave
Attendees watch a preview for Activision Blizzard Inc.’s Call of Duty WWII video game for the Sony Corp. PlayStation during a Sony event ahead of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. (Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Activision Blizzard Inc. said it plans to fire Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann for cause unrelated to the company’s financial performance and has placed him on paid leave.

Neumann will be on leave pending an opportunity to demonstrate why he shouldn’t be let go, the company said Monday in a regulatory filing. Activision, a leading video-game publisher, didn’t elaborate.

In at least a dozen U.S. departures this year, companies directly accused senior executives of misconduct unrelated to financial performance. Neumann came to the company from Walt Disney Co. and has been finance chief since May 2017. In the last fiscal year, he had total compensation of $9.47 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, including $2.8 million in options awards and $4.15 million in stock awards.

Dennis Durkin, who held the post previously and serves now as chief corporate officer, will assume the duties of principal financial officer, Activision said.

Shares of Activision fell 1.2 percent to $46.03 in extended trading. The stock has declined 26 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Golum in Los Angeles at rgolum@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net

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