Evil Geniuses Approved Exorbitant Expenses Spending For CEO Amid Layoffs And Cutbacks
While EG staff and players were losing jobs or being told to do more with less not everyone at the company had to take those measures
Documents obtained by this publication show that former Evil Geniuses CEO, Nicole Lapointe Jameson, was authorised to spend sizeable amounts on business class flights and hotel accommodation in the months before her departure. Although it had to be approved by EG’s owners this spending came at a time when the organisation was already making layoffs and downsizing rosters as well as starting to reduce general expenses in other areas of the business.
As part of our months long investigation into the operations of Evil Geniuses, which included interviewing close to two dozen current and former employees as well as pulling legal filings from public records, we were sent multiple documents related to the organisation’s spending. These documents were verified as accurate by multiple sources who had knowledge of the operational costs of EG.
For the first two years spending from the CEO position was modest with 2020 spending amounting to only $1341.42 and 2022 amounting to $13,665.04 for the entire year. The company policy in place required frugal spending with Economy and Economy Plus flights being selected as well as modest hotel accommodation. By contrast 2023’s expenses in January and February amounted to a total of $17,037.82. The bulk of this was taken up by attendance to Riot Games Valorant Champions Tour event in Sao Paolo where a business class flight from Atlanta to Sao Paolo and then on to Honolulu cost a total of $7,727.55. This was also supplemented by six nights stay in the plus Hilton Sao Paolo Morumbi hotel for $2,247.06. With car rental and other experiences the total booking was $10,651.86.
The booking documents specifically stated that the flights were not in line with pre-approved company spending meaning that the expenditure had to be approved by those above the executive suite. A source familiar with the inner workings of EG explained “the records show the last four digits of the company card used for these expenses which means someone had to knowingly override the company policy to book this flight.” They inferred this would have to come from someone senior to Lapointe Jameson.
When asked if it was possible that the amount was paid back by the former CEO they added “there was no record of a refund so while there is a slim possibility she may have repaid EG for those flights before she left there’s no indication that occurred.”
Between the end of 2022 and 2023 the organisation was making a series of layoffs and cutbacks in order to streamline their spending. This included their North American Dota 2 team and support staff in November 2022 right the way through to beginning a liquidation process in November this year. The organisation has been in freefall for some time and all indications are that it will cease to exist in 2024.
While some exorbitant spending on flights and hotels would barely make a dent in the money used for other failed projects it is indicative of the divide within the Evil Geniuses company when it came to Peak6 playing favourites. Several of the people we interviewed for the previous articles in the Living Evil series spoke of the perks and privileges afforded to the staff Peak6 brought in over those who were already there at the time of the merger. A former Evil Geniuses employee explained that within the company there was a strange culture when it came to expenses. All spending had to be directly cleared by the CEO but often managers were forced to spend significant amounts out of pocket for business expenses.
EG refused to give Team Managers corporate cards to make EG related purchases” the source explained. “They expected the managers to use their own funds when travelling to cover expenses that can exceed $3000 USD at times. Some managers had even taken out loans in the fear that if they didn’t cover it the players would suffer as a result and/or the team manager would lose their job.”
They [EG executives] have privately demeaned these employees to other leaders for not having high enough credit” they continued “and for having too little in savings to cover these expenses but these employees are considered entry level and should have no expectation that they can cover these expectations.”
Similarly a report on Dot Esports had several employees speak about their poor work conditions in the EG offices that came as the organisation looked to curb any unnecessary spending.
In addition to a dwindling number of employees, the ones who remained were subject to a less-than-ideal working environment. One of the former employees said it was “incredibly typical for poorly run tech companies,” calling the environment “jail with snacks,” though they even claimed there was no food in the office for six months—and, at some points, no toiletries.
None of this is at all surprising. By now there’s enough reporting to establish that under Peak6 Evil Geniuses was not a well run organisation and it didn’t treat its staff, or indeed its players, with respect. As the dismantling of one of North America’s esports giants continues last week news also emerged that ESL had removed their Counter-Strike team from their Pro League by “mutual agreement” bringing to an end a miserable run that saw them finish dead last in season 13,14,15 and 17. Weeks prior to that they also announced they would no longer be in Riot Games League of Legends LCS league having accepted a buyout for a non-disclosed fee from the developer.
Happy New Year Rich !!
As always, I appreciate your work and admire the fact that you are still putting out these stories during holidays.
Hope you have a great upcoming year where you can find some time for yourself.
Even down to the damn toilet paper this company is in shambles and for good reason. Keep the dirt coming.