WotC WotC President Cynthia Williams Resigns

Cynthia Williams, who has been president of Wizards of the Coast for the last two years, will be leaving the company at the end of the month, according to an SEC filing dated April 15th. Hasbro is already looking for somebody to step into the role.

Williams worked for Microsoft on the Gaming Ecosystem Commercial Team before joining WotC two years ago, stepping into the role that then-president Chris Cocks vacated when he was promoted to CEO of Hasbro in February 2022.

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On April 15, 2024, Cynthia Williams, President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming, informed the Company of her resignation from the Company effective April 26, 2024. The Company is conducting a process to identify her successor, looking at both internal and external candidates.

According to Rascal News, WotC responded with a comment: "We’re excited for Cynthia to take the next step in her career and grateful for the contributions she has made in her more than two years at Wizards and Hasbro. We wish her the absolute best in her next endeavor. We have started the search for our next President of Wizards of the Coast and hope to have a successor in place soon."

 

[FrogReaver]

Don't get me wrong, it's definitely newsworthy for an RPG News website like EN World, but this isn't the first time anyone has ever resigned from their job before. It happens. It happens a lot.

As if the President of WOTC is the same as the guy at McDonald’s that gave his 2 weeks notice. Sorry but it’s not the same.

There may or may not be anything there, but the kind of attempted minimization here (‘it happens’) just isnt a solid foundation on which to claim there likely isn’t anything here.

Some people really want need this to be a huge deal, an omen of bad things to come, a symptom of some Great Problem. But it's probably none of those things. She probably resigned for the same reason I resigned from my last job, and the same reason most people resign from a job: she found a better offer elsewhere. It's boring, I know, but it's a resignation...how exciting were you expecting this to be?

I think that’s incorrect. I think the signs point to this being a bigger deal, not because I want it to be, but because the way it was handled is extremely outside the norm for positions at that level.

I’m more interested in why the resignation process was so outside the norm. My interest may not even be so much that she resigned or why she did, but rather why that process around it makes so little sense.

 

[CleverNickName]

As if the President of WOTC is the same as the guy at McDonald’s that gave his 2 weeks notice. Sorry but it’s not the same.

Of course they're not the same. You could have more accurately compared this situation to a different president resigning from a different company, which also happens all the time, but you didn't--you picked an hourly, entry-level employee to try to sabotage the comparison.

There may or may not be anything there, but the kind of attempted minimization here (‘it happens’) just isnt a solid foundation on which to claim there likely isn’t anything here.

You say "attempted minimization," I say "reality check." We have no reason to believe her resignation is indicative of anything amiss. If you have evidence to the contrary, you could change my mind. But so far, all I've seen is conjecture and rumor.

I’m more interested in why the resignation process was so outside the norm. My interest may not even be so much that she resigned or why she did, but rather why that process around it makes so little sense.

Let's start there. How was this "extremely outside the norm"? (What is "the norm" for this situation, anyway? And how is it "extreme"?) What part of the resignation doesn't make sense to you?

 

[mamba]

Let's start there. How was this "extremely outside the norm"? (What is "the norm" for this situation, anyway? And how is it "extreme"?) What part of the resignation doesn't make sense to you?

two weeks notice with WotC scrambling to find a replacement, that part is outside the norm

 

[CleverNickName]

two weeks notice with WotC scrambling to find a replacement, that part is outside the norm

I disagree--2 weeks' notice is very much the norm in corporate America. Even my company's Chief Executive Officer gave two weeks' notice when she left in 2018.

 

[FrogReaver]

Of course they're not the same. You could have more accurately compared this situation to a different president resigning from a different company, which also happens all the time, but you didn't--you picked an hourly, entry-level employee to try to sabotage the comparison.

Don’t pin your lack of specification on me. I responded to the comparison you initially provided.

You say "attempted minimization," I say "reality check." We have no reason to believe her resignation is indicative of anything amiss. If you have evidence to the contrary, you could change my mind. But so far, all I've seen is conjecture and rumor.

Awesome and there is evidence. Not foolproof evidence but still evidence.

Let's start there. How was this "extremely outside the norm"? (What is "the norm" for this situation, anyway? And how is it "extreme"?) What part of the resignation doesn't make sense to you?

Better!

So let me preface that everything is still within the realm of possibility but that doesn’t mean everything is equally likely.

Resignations for Presidents of companies that are leaving for another roll aren’t typically announced 2 weeks before the resignation takes place.

Resignations for health issues usually aren’t announced so close to resignation date because most health issues don’t occur suddenly - and they are typically accompanied by an explanation that president is stepping down for health which didn’t happen here.

One possibility is they knew who they wanted as a replacement, and were working too get that individual to accept and at the last minute they didn’t, leaving them in a major bind.

Other possibility is she was forced out. But even that doesn’t make sense with the short announcement timeframe - unless it was for something really bad (seems really unlikely this was the case).

in any event the short announcement timeframe with no replacement indicates something didn’t go as planned.

Top level executives just don’t typically give 2 week notices for a new and better job.

 

[FrogReaver]

I disagree--2 weeks' notice is very much the norm in corporate America. Even my company's Chief Executive Officer gave two weeks' notice when she left in 2018.

Was a replacement or interim replacement announced then or very shortly thereafter?

 

[FrogReaver]

@mamba I’m actually leaning toward the planned replacement falling through. That best explains the last minute announcement with no currently planned replacement.

May never know for sure but seems the most plausible IMO.

 

[CleverNickName]

Well at least we agree on this part:

May never know for sure

 

[FrogReaver]

Well at least we agree on this part:

I’m really surprised you don’t agree that 2 week notices are uncommon for president and ceo level positions of major companies.

That seems to be the crux of the differing viewpoints.

 

[Oofta]

I’m really surprised you don’t agree that 2 week notices are uncommon for president and ceo level positions of major companies.

That seems to be the crux of the differing viewpoints.

WotC is just a subsidiary of HASBRO and without knowing her employment contract we simply don't know if there were any special rewards or penalties for not giving more than the standard 2 week notice. Just like we don't know why she's leaving even after almost 400 posts on the subject.