Charles Ryan (and others) out at WotC?

[Truth Seeker]

Mr.Ryan, although our meetings were in snippets at Gen Con. I was left with the impression, that you were, no...are a person of good standing. I am sorry to see this happen, and I do know how it feels, when getting the call, or the talk, when getting the pink slip.

I am sorry though, I did not interact with you more, after Gen Con, but during that time of our brief converse, online and at Gen Con. You left a great impression on me, when you said, on when we met the first time. How that you did some research on me, when the airing of the Dungeon & Dragons #2 movie was coming down the pike. A first I ever heard, and I hope that what was founded, was not a lot of holes. .

Thank You for your time.

And congrats on your second wailing banshee to enter your household.

Hello, everybody.

Just thought I'd stop by and confirm what you've already heard. Today was my last day with Wizards of the Coast. Although I will still be active on these boards and in the D&D community, I am no longer a spokesman for D&D or WotC.

Please don't be too hasty to draw conclusions about the health of D&D from this turn of events. Wizards of the Coast is a large company with a dozen or so brands and major business operations on every continent. The company operates very much as a team, and in that environment, a single brand can be affected by the fortunes of other brands, even when it's doing well.

I'm sad to no longer be involved professionally with D&D. I'm very proud of my accomplishments during my tenure as Brand Manager (and as a member of the R&D team before that). This has been a very exciting two years for the D&D brand, and though I'm sorry not to continue participating in D&D's future, I'm honored to have had the opportunity that I did to lead D&D's fortunes during two very exciting years.

My wife and I are expecting our second child soon, and I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with my family over the next few weeks. I don't yet know where I'll go from there, but I can tell you this: I will always be a diehard gamer and an outspoken fan of D&D!

 

[loki44]

Tough luck Chuck. That really sucks.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

They do, but I believe they have to wait something like three months before they can hire someone they laid off to do the same job "freelance".

do they have a noncompete clause in their employee contracts upon hire?

In this case the restriction is a self-imposed one, from within Hasbro. As a matter of policy they can not hire "freelance" someone they just layed off. (I don't know the genesis of that policy.)

I am not certain, but I think that the duration of this "probation" extends to the limit of the severance package.

Anyhow, this isn't specifically a "non-compete" kind of situation. Maybe your question wasn't asking that, but as it followed on the heels of (and quoted) Nicole I couldn't tell.

A freelancer could (hypothetically) gain employment with another outside design firm to do an end-run around this restriction. That is to say, Hasbro pays Elite Design Studio to complete some outside design work. Elite Design subcontracts the job to John Doe, knowing that he is the best man for the job with up-to-date, intimate experience of the brand in question.

In this case, though again I am not certain, any 'competitive' employment of John Doe within the duration of his severance package could invalidate his severance package (and this may or may not include Elite Design Studio).

I am not certain, otherwise, how a non-compete clause is enforceable under the law. The employer really has no other legal leverage over their former employee to make such demands.

 

[diaglo]

Tough luck Chuck. That really sucks.

you forgot to mention the muck on his truck and the few bucks from ducks

 

[diaglo]

In this case the restriction is a self-imposed one, from within Hasbro. As a matter of policy they can not hire "freelance" someone they just layed off. (I don't know the genesis of that policy.)

I am not certain, but I think that the duration of this "probation" extends to the limit of the severance package.

Anyhow, this isn't specifically a "non-compete" kind of situation. Maybe your question wasn't asking that, but as it followed on the heels of (and quoted) Nicole I couldn't tell.

A freelancer could (hypothetically) gain employment with another outside design firm to do an end-run around this restriction. That is to say, Hasbro pays Elite Design Studio to complete some outside design work. Elite Design subcontracts the job to John Doe, knowing that he is the best man for the job with up-to-date, intimate experience of the brand in question.

In this case, though again I am not certain, any 'competitive' employment of John Doe within the duration of his severance package could invalidate his severance package (and this may or may not include Elite Design Studio).

I am not certain, otherwise, how a non-compete clause is enforceable under the law. The employer really has no other legal leverage over their former employee to make such demands.

Ben,


yup. that's exactly what i was asking.

thanks

 

[Warbringer]

Well, carp in a hat.

Guess I'm glad I didn't get that job as WotC's Director of Market Research, after all...

You and me both ......

 

[Varianor Abroad]

I'm sorry for the layoffs. Good luck to Charles and Michelle and everyone else!

The "CCGs dragged down the division" theory coupled with Mearls' statement a few months ago that "D&D is doing fine" gives good weight to the "fire the management with big salaries" theory. Having worked for major corporations, I agree that it's quite likely. Especially if there are new VPs in the company above local management. There's often a change of personnel to clear the decks in case they later want to hire people they're comfortable with.

 

[kenobi65]

Highly unlikely, maybe...but still possible, no?

Anything's possible, Truth Seeker. Obviously, neither you nor I know all the details.

But, hiring a new PR agency (and, remember, they already had a PR agency; the recent move was to assign M:tG and D&D to two different PR agencies) really is nowhere near the same thing as hiring an outside marketing consultant to take over the marketing function. PR agencies do very specific things, and there's a lot that Marketing entails that PR agencies just don't have anything to do with.

Now, it's entirely possible that they'll now hire some external consultant to do the marketing management that used to be handled in-house. But, the deal with the PR agency really is likely a completely separate issue.

 

[Nikchick]

In this case the restriction is a self-imposed one, from within Hasbro. As a matter of policy they can not hire "freelance" someone they just layed off. (I don't know the genesis of that policy.)

I am not certain, but I think that the duration of this "probation" extends to the limit of the severance package.

Aaah, now that rings some bells. I think Wulf's nailed it.

 

[kenobi65]

You and me both ......

Are you saying you were up for that job, too...or just that you're happy I didn't get it?