By Joann S. Lublin
A high-level legal battle between search firm Korn/Ferry
International and one of its former high-level executives has taken
a sordid turn.
In a court filing late Thursday, Korn/Ferry said it fired Robert
Damon, its former executive chairman for the Americas, for
allegedly using his company email address repeatedly "to solicit
and arrange for meetings with at least 20 different call girls and
escorts." In addition, Korn/Ferry alleges Mr. Damon used his
company email "to receive and distribute photographs of nude and
seminude women," the filing added.
Mr. Damon couldn't immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
His lawyer, William Waldo, said he hadn't yet seen Korn/Ferry's
claims, which were filed at the U.S. District Court for the Central
District of California.
The allegations by the world's biggest executive search firm
came in a response to a suit brought last month by Mr. Damon, who
alleged he was fired after complaining to board members about Chief
Executive Gary Burnison's alleged treatment of several female
colleagues. He also said he lost more than $1.7 million in deferred
compensation due to his termination for cause.
Mr. Damon's suit, filed March 10 in California Superior Court in
Los Angeles, claims Mr. Burnison engaged in a pattern of abuse and
discrimination toward Korn/Ferry's female employees starting around
2010. The suit alleges that after senior Korn/Ferry executive Ana
Dutra complained about such conduct to a party who wasn't named in
the suit, Mr. Burnison threatened her with a golf club.
The company has vigorously objected to the allegations in the
suit and has said they were without merit.
The sordid allegations heighten an already potentially
embarrassing dispute for a high-profile search firm that markets
itself as a "provider of talent management solutions." Mr. Damon
was among Korn/Ferry's own talent. The firm hired him in 2004 as
president of North America, its biggest unit, and later promoted
him to run its Americas region.
Michael Distefano, Korn/Ferry's chief marketing officer, said
previously the company fired Mr. Damon for inappropriate personal
behavior and violations of company policies.
In its filing, Korn/Ferry alleged Mr. Damon's emails "detailed
everything from measurements and physical descriptions of the call
girls to the price of their services." The company also alleged Mr.
Damon "repeatedly directed the call girls and their agents to
Korn/Ferry's website to confirm his identity and position with
Korn/Ferry."
Korn/Ferry said in the filing it canceled Mr. Damon's deferred
compensation because he was terminated for cause. In submitting its
response to a U.S. District Court, the search firm sought to
transfer the Damon case there--saying his claims are covered under
a federal retirement benefits law.
Korn/Ferry has commanded the top spot in the global and U.S.
search industry for more than a decade, according to Scott Scanlon,
CEO of Hunt Scanlon Media Inc., a market-research firm that tracks
executive recruiters. Korn/Ferry has helped place leaders at Office
Depot Inc., Target Corp., Major League Baseball and elsewhere.
Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com
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