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."

 

[Azzy]

That was clearly a typo. It's supposed to be Deck the Man Things. I hope you guys remember to duck.

 

[Faolyn]

Well I would like to know. What if she was knocked off because she wanted to eliminate Gnomes from D&D? In that case, I would want to applaud WOTC for their actions!

In some older games I was in, the DM had a "no gnomes" policy (he was used to GURPS, where the gnomes were very bland and totally redundant with dwarfs) and decided that any gnome brought into his world immediately burst into flame. So we joked that fireball was actually a summon gnome spell and meteor swarm was mass summon gnome.

 

[Maxperson]

View attachment 359391

That's the cursed version. Don't want to deck that one!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I said I didn't feel entitled. You said you thought that was a strange attitude. I asked if that meant you felt otherwise. You say you don't.

It's not a sore point, it's just a nonsensical conversation.

I don't think it's nonsensical. @SteveC just thought it was odd that you'd express disinterest in a subject that could (by some) be seen as newsworthy, when you run a news site. That's reasonable.

OTOH, I'm with you - The NEWS is that she's left. WHY she's left is her business.

I'm not sure that I care about the why of it, myself. Though, on the other-other hand, I suppose that I'd read about it if you happened to report on it, and decide then if I care!

 

[Zardnaar]

I don't think it's nonsensical. @SteveC just thought it was odd that you'd express disinterest in a subject that could (by some) be seen as newsworthy, when you run a news site. That's reasonable.

OTOH, I'm with you - The NEWS is that she's left. WHY she's left is her business.

I'm not sure that I care about the why of it, myself. Though, on the other-other hand, I suppose that I'd read about it if you happened to report on it, and decide then if I care!

Reason I don't care to much is idk how much one can pin on her positive or negative.

 

[Morrus]

I don't think it's nonsensical. @SteveC just thought it was odd that you'd express disinterest in a subject that could (by some) be seen as newsworthy, when you run a news site. That's reasonable.

As Alzrius pointed out, interest and entitlement are two different words. I used one of them; you've used the other.

 

[SteveC]

I don't think it's nonsensical. @SteveC just thought it was odd that you'd express disinterest in a subject that could (by some) be seen as newsworthy, when you run a news site. That's reasonable.

Exactly so. I was an English major a long time ago and have dabbled in journalism, so I know and am conscientious about news and what I'm "entitled" to know. And for RPG news, that's really nothing. If that's the basis we're using for news, might as well close up the site. I have only used that word in response, and I frankly think its use here is a pretty solid straw-man argument. I'm not even sure what we are arguing, though. I have no more right to know about this than I did when Mike Mearls left. But we discussed that in a lot of detail. Am I interested in it? Yes. And only because it may indicate a shift in WotC's priorities.

I'm not interested in private or personal matters at all. If those are the reasons she is leaving, I want her to feel supported. Will she even hear about that or care? I doubt it, but that's on me to support anyone in a bad situation. But we have no reason to know any of that.

When the president of the company that makes the best-selling RPG in the world leaves, just as that company is releasing a new edition of the game I'm playing now, after a year where a lot of controversial (and mostly negative) stuff happened, I'm interested to know why. I have no idea why this is unusual. I said I'd drop the issue and I really intend to, I guess I just wanted to clarify things. And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[HomegrownHydra]

I said I didn't feel entitled. You said you thought that was a strange attitude. I asked if that meant you felt otherwise. You say you don't.

It's not a sore point, it's just a nonsensical conversation.

SteveC's original comment made no reference to you let alone accuse you of having a sense of entitlement so your response to him came across as implying that he had a sense of entitlement.

 

[billd91]

SteveC's original comment made no reference to you let alone accuse you of having a sense of entitlement so your response to him came across as implying that he had a sense of entitlement.

Worse, it gave the impression Morrus was looking down his nose at him, as in "I don't feel entitled." [emphasis on the I]

 

[FrogReaver]

OTOH, I'm with you - The NEWS is that she's left. WHY she's left is her business.

I don’t agree here. When a high level executive of a publicly traded company leaves the question why is definitely the business of stakeholders in the company (which would include their customers).

That said, leaving for health/family/etc is an adequate explanation (no need to know what health problems or family issues) if true and not being used as a cover for other reasons (which is often the case).