But just weeks after the new executive assumed his role as head of people operations (TSM’s human resources analogue), employees learned that he had been let go after an apparent disagreement with Andy Dinh, the organization’s CEO and founder, over a recruitment practice the new executive wanted to implement. During a question-and-answer portion of the all-hands call, one employee asked Dinh to explain what had prompted the firing.
“That was when [Andy] told the whole company that the HR person was let go because he asked a question that Andy didn’t like,” said a former TSM employee. “I think he kind of realized how ridiculous it sounded, so he followed up by saying, ‘Well, he asked two questions that [I] didn’t like.’
“No one wants to ask any questions after that.”
Since 2009, Dinh has built TSM into one of the premier esports organizations in the world. Competing in a variety of esports and partnering with popular streamers, TSM was labeled by Forbes as the “most valuable” esports organization at an estimated $410 million in 2020. The following year, the company inked a 10-year naming rights deal with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX for $210 million.
However, allegations of workplace abuse have long circulated around the 30-year-old founder. In videos dating back almost a decade, Dinh can be seen yelling at TSM’s esports athletes. That behavior extended far beyond the