Activision Blizzard, the American video game company, has taken on Kristen Hines as chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. She will begin essaying this role with effect from April 25, 2022, and will report to Julie Hodges, chief people officer.
In her new assignment, Hines will work closely with the leadership team and the employee resource groups to implement programmes and policies that foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace environment.
She will also partner across all gaming teams to ensure that diverse and inclusive perspectives are included in game design, including storylines, character development, gameplay and community interaction. Her focus will to increase the percentage of women and non-binary people in its workforce be by 50 per cent over the next five years.
Hines, who holds an MBA in finance and marketing from the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, graduated in political science from the University of Michigan in 1999.
After working as an investment banking analyst at CIBC World Markets for two years — serving clients in the consumer products industry, in New York — in 2001 she moved to RSM Robson Rhodes. She worked at this professional services firm as a consultant for two years, based out of London.
It was in 2006 that Hines joined Accenture where she spent over 15 successful years. Her last position at Accenture was that of managing director, for talent and organisation (T&O), based out of Chicago.
At Accenture, Hines was part of the global leadership team for the CEO transformation practice and successfully headed the global inclusion, diversity & equity practice.
With over 20 years of experience across various industries, Hines has expertise in the health and the public sectors. During her long career, she has had ample opportunity to focus on large-scale enterprise transformation strategy and management, C-suite leadership alignment, M&A integration, organisation design, HR strategy and employee experience.
Glad that Activision Blizzard “is prioritising its commitment to DEI and making progress on the ambitious goals it has set for itself,” Hines is “looking forward to leading the Company’s efforts to further build a workplace that values transparency, equity, and inclusivity”.
Hines believes, “Gaming has amazing potential to connect communities around the world and showcase heroes from all backgrounds” and is eager to play a “part in expanding the landscape of talent who brings these compelling experiences to a broad base of players.”
Activision Blizzard is working towards becoming the most welcoming and inclusive company in the gaming industry.
“We have already made significant progress ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees, and we are excited to have Kristen join our leadership team to help drive even greater improvement,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.
“Kristen’s success leading complex transformation with measurable results makes her the right person to ensure we deliver on our diversity, equity and inclusion commitments and build a model workplace aligned with our values,” admits Kotick