(Reuters) – Ubisoft has hired Raashi Sikka from carmaker Uber to be the French games maker’s global vice president responsible for diversity and inclusion, as it strives to draw a line under past allegations of inappropriate management behaviour.
Sikka, who previously oversaw Uber’s diversity and inclusion strategies across Europe and Asia, will be Ubisoft’s first diversity and inclusion leader to report to its CEO.
She will focus primarily on design and implementation of various programmes to promote diversity and equity among Ubisoft’s employees globally at all levels, from human resources to editorial, game development, and marketing.
Earlier this year, Ubisoft was caught up in the #MeToo movement, facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour among senior management, which led to the resignation of the group’s chief creative officer, the managing director of its Canadian studios and global head of human resources.
“We are committed to making Ubisoft a more inclusive and diverse company,” CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement.
Sikka added: “Video games have the power to promote the values of diversity and inclusion. I hope my work will help reinforce this and ensure the content created at Ubisoft is reflective of the different backgrounds, cultures, identities and stories the teams bring to work each day.”
A replacement chief creative officer has not yet been announced. Guillemot has temporality taken on the position’s responsibilities.
Sikka’s appointment takes effect on Feb. 1, 2021.
(Reporting by Piotr Lipinski in Gdansk; Editing by Mark Potter)
