Female Moet exec told she was 'gagging for it' sues firm for $1.5m
Maria Gasparovic, the former chief of staff to executive Jean-Marc Lacave, was sacked last June, just four months after she told her HR department about senior colleagues' alleged misconduct while she worked at the firm's Paris headquarters.
Lacave, her direct boss, is alleged to have told her that in order to be promoted, she needed 'anti-seduction' training, it was reported.
He is also accused of telling her that she had not been promoted because a client had said she was 'gagging for it' at a meeting.
Gasparovic is suing the multi-billion dollar firm for $1.5million in damages and compensation over accusations of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and unfair dismissal.
LHMV has refuted the claims, and has filed a lawsuit against her for defamation after she posted the allegations to social media. A defamation trial is expected in the fall.
In her dismissal letter, Moet Hennessy said she was being fired for impersonating another employee on a call while on sick leave, and for making threatening remarks to colleagues, though she had denied all these allegations.
Before she was made to leave, she reportedly submitted a whistleblowing report to the firm in which she detailed her allegations of harassment and discrimination, though according to a legal complaint she filed the firm did not carry out a formal investigation.
Mark Stead, the company's former chief operating officer who is in a relationship with Gasparovic, was reportedly sacked for allegedly misusing travel and expenses resources shortly after he accompanied her to meetings with HR.
Since her sacking, around a dozen people have reportedly come forward to reveal a series of executive departures 'related to a toxic workplace environment where bullying and mismanagement were problems'.
At least four female employees at Moet Hennessy's Paris headquarters have reported bullying and harassment before leaving. Three of those who filed complaints at employment tribunals have since settled with the firm.
Several women allegedly complained about being the subject of unfounded rumours about having affairs with men at the company.
According to the Financial Times, after one woman told HR that people were spreading false rumors that she had slept with a male executive to get work opportunities, she was simply told to 'get used to it'.
Many employees of the firm complained of stress and bullying, with at least 20 staff at the headquarters going on long-term sick leave in 2024 alone.
One source told the FT that gossip and rumors are rife at Moet Hennessy, and that it was a 'boys club'.
They said that bosses would 'scream at people like it was a fashion house in the 1990s, except we are in 2025 - that behavior is no longer acceptable'.
The source reportedly added: 'Lots of people were going on sick leave, people were disappearing overnight. It took on disruptive proportions'.
In a note sent to staff in September 2024, Moet Hennessy's then-chief executive Philippe Schaus and head of HR Paula Fallowfield tried to put out the fires of Gasparovic's allegations, and of the wider concerns within the company, the FT reports.
'We assure you that each case has been handled thoughtfully, fairly and in line with a commitment to confidentiality and our values,' they wrote in the email, while reminding staff of 'the distress one-sided narratives may cause'.
'We are committed to providing a positive working environment . . . Moreover we are also determined to do everything possible to protect the reputation of Moet Hennessy,' they wrote.
Gasparovic's lawsuit is expected to be heard in court later this year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
17 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘A criminal gang stole £20k worth of racing bikes from our Airbnb in France'
Has a company treated you unfairly? Our Consumer Champion is available to help. For how to contact her click here. Dear Katie, We booked an 11-bedroom property in France through Airbnb for a cycling trip during the Paris-Roubaix weekend in April. What should have been a memorable sporting holiday turned into a distressing ordeal involving burglary, unsafe accommodation and what we feel is a complete failure of Airbnb's much-advertised AirCover protection. Before our arrival, we informed the host that 14 guests would be bringing bicycles, and asked about secure storage. Upon arrival, we discovered that the property's deadlock was jammed and inoperable. My husband phoned the host, who promised a locksmith would attend the next day. However, that night we awoke at 3am to find the front door wide open. To our horror, we found that five bikes, a camera and a set of van keys had been stolen. Luckily, someone in our party had thought to place an AirTag on one of the bikes, and we subsequently recovered three of them by confronting the thieves ourselves. The police, who arrived heavily armed and in body armour, confirmed forced entry and advised us to leave immediately, warning that the gang might return. But Airbnb delayed our relocation, refusing to cover the cost for all guests. After hours of phone calls and having a front door that wouldn't lock, and us needing to guard the property physically, Airbnb finally agreed to let us find our own hotel. We had to pay upfront for alternative accommodation, and were later partially reimbursed. However, when we submitted claims for the stolen items, and other losses under Airbnb's AirCover policy, its insurer denied liability, citing 'forced entry', which effectively absolved the host and, by extension, Airbnb, of responsibility. We feel Airbnb's decision not to compensate us for the two bikes and the camera that remain lost directly contradicts its own promise of '$1m liability insurance' for stolen belongings where the host is liable. We feel our experience raises serious questions about Airbnb's AirCover policy. Its insurer initially claimed it didn't handle theft claims at all, until we sent them Airbnb's own terms. To date, we are still over £10,000 out of pocket. Airbnb's promises of guest protection and responsive support have proven hollow, and we feel we deserve better. Despite repeated attempts to contact them, Airbnb has ignored our emails and failed to address our concerns about the way we have been treated. – KW, via email Dear KW, You faced a terrifying ordeal when you awoke to shuffling sounds coming from downstairs, and you were met face to face with a group of robbers armed with spanners. They made off with some bikes and other valuables, but thankfully, you caught them before they could steal some of your group's more valuable bikes, which were worth as much as £10,000 each. After calling the police, you were startled when they arrived at around 7.30am fully armed with weapons. Apparently, they told you this street you were staying on was notorious for break-ins, as organised crime was rife in the area. Naturally, this frightened the life out of you all and made you want to leave immediately. If this area was as rife with crime as the police had said, then it struck me as deeply irresponsible of the host to allow guests to stay at this property without a sufficiently secure front door. A door with a latch and a functioning deadlock is the bare minimum one would expect at a rental property, and in fact, many insurers insist on front doors having this level of security for valid cover to be put in place. This front door did have a deadlock, but upon arrival at the property, you quickly realised it was temperamental. You messaged the host to let them know it was dangerous. He replied saying someone would come in the morning, but of course, by then it was too late. You also say you were provided with no key to the front door, just a four digit PIN which you were asked not to share with anyone, making you wonder whether it was ever changed between guest stays. Once the police had inspected the break-in, you say you were told that it looked as though the property had been broken into previously, which sent chills down your spine. You phoned Airbnb to report the incident and ask it to move you to another property, but by the sounds of it, it was initially rather useless. Following my involvement, you have now been fully refunded for your replacement hotel, and Airbnb has offered to reimburse the additional expenses you incurred 'as a goodwill gesture', including the van recovery and replacement key, train tickets and event entry fees. This amounts to around £6,000 in total, which will help make up for the £10,000 losses your group incurred as a result of the robbery. However, it still leaves you out of pocket by around £4,000 for the actual items stolen. You rightly point out that part of Airbnb offers cover for guests' stolen belongings in the rare event that their host is found liable for the incident. You made an AirCover claim which was reviewed by an independent adjudicator, but unfortunately they decided that the host was not liable for the claim. However, Airbnb has refused to disclose the full reasons for this decision, and has not sent you the adjudicator's report to examine, or given you the opportunity to appeal the decision. When I asked it for more information, it told me it had not received any evidence that the host confirmed there was anywhere for you to store the bikes after you told it in advance that you were bringing them, or that they described the lock as temperamental, or that they offered to call a locksmith. I told Airbnb that I couldn't see that any of this was reasonable evidence proving that the host was not liable for failing to install basic security on the property's front door, which ultimately left your bikes and camera vulnerable in the attack. I was left feeling concerned that the adjudicator's assessment of the situation had been sloppy, and that Airbnb wasn't interested in digging deeper to establish the true picture. To make matters worse, Airbnb refused to speak to me over the phone about the issue, insisting on email communication only, which only deepened my fears. So with Airbnb digging its heels in over the remaining money, those in your party whom the bikes and camera belonged to are now forced to claim on their home insurance, which will result in higher premiums for them. This seems unfair given the circumstances, and Airbnb's reticence to discuss the nitty gritty here has left me feeling uncomfortable to say the least. I'm sorry you're still disappointed with the outcome, but I have done all I can here with the limited information I've been given. An Airbnb spokesman said: 'Our host liability protection provides up to $1m in coverage in the rare event a guest's belongings are stolen or damaged during a stay and the host is found liable. In this case, the third-party adjuster investigated and did not find the host liable for this incident. 'However, we were sorry to hear about this experience, and as a gesture of goodwill, in addition to refunding the guests for their hotel, we have offered a reimbursement for additional expenses incurred.'
Times
17 hours ago
- Times
LVMH suffers steep drop in fashion sales as the rich cut spending
LVMH's core fashion and leather goods division suffered a steep slowdown in quarterly sales, a fresh warning sign for the wider luxury sector as even affluent shoppers cut their spending amid the global uncertainty. Shares in the world's largest luxury group fell 2 per cent after the division behind Louis Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy reported a 9 per cent drop in organic sales over the past three months to €9 billion. That compared with a 5 per cent decline in the previous quarter and marked the sharpest fall among LVMH's business lines, which span alcohol, watches and jewellery. For the first half, sales in the fashion and leather goods division were down 7 per cent on an organic basis to €20.7 billion, while profit from recurring operations fell 18 per cent to €6.6 billion. The Paris-listed group said tough comparatives had contributed to the decline, noting the first half of 2024 had been boosted by strong tourist spending, particularly in Japan. Group-wide sales fell 4 per cent on an organic basis to €19.5 billion in the second quarter, in line with analyst forecasts. First-half sales declined 3 per cent to €39.8 billion, also in line with consensus. Operating income before non-recurring items dropped to €9 billion, from €10.65 billion a year earlier. The wine and spirits division, home to Moët and Hennessy, also posted a fall in revenue and profit, citing the impact of trade tensions on customers in key markets such as the United States and China. • How will LVMH and its luxury competitors cope with tariffs? LVMH, led by the billionaire Bernard Arnault, noted continued weak demand for cognac, although it said trends for champagne had improved in the second quarter. Revenue in the division fell 4 per cent over the three months, bringing the first-half decline to 7 per cent. The French group, which owns 75 luxury brands and has a market capitalisation of €233 billion, has faced challenges across the board this year. A broader slowdown in the US and in China, where a property crisis continues to weigh on consumer sentiment, has hit revenues in its main divisions. This mirrors broader weakness across the luxury sector. Its Swiss rival Richemont has also struggled, although a stronger performance in luxury jewellery helped offset softer sales in watches and fashion during the second quarter. At LVMH, the jewellery arm recorded flat sales over the same period. Cécile Cabanis, LVMH's chief financial officer, acknowledged the macroeconomic environment was 'full of uncertainty' but said she remained 'rather confident' about the rest of the year. She pointed to potential good news from trade talks between the European Union and the Trump administration. Asked how LVMH would respond to a possible 15 per cent general tariff on US-bound exports, Cabanis said such a move would be 'an overall good outcome for the general mood of our clients'. She added that, with the exception of wines and spirits, several LVMH labels still had pricing power to help offset any impact from tariffs. The company announced plans to open a factory in Texas by 2027 in light of President Trump's tariff regime. Separately, Cabanis said the company would not keep any brands in its portfolio that were unprofitable, citing recent stake disposals of Off-White and Stella McCartney. Shares in LVMH, down 28 per cent over the past year, closed 9.7 cents, or 2 per cent, lower at €470.25.
The Independent
18 hours ago
- The Independent
FA issue England manager warning ahead of Euros final
The Football Association (FA) is determined to retain Sarina Wiegman as England manager, with chief executive Mark Bullingham stating she is "not for sale" at any price. Wiegman has reached five consecutive major tournament finals, including the last three with the Lionesses, and will lead them in the Euro 2025 final against world champions Spain. Her current contract with the FA extends until the end of the 2027 Women's World Cup, and Bullingham expressed confidence in keeping her in charge. Bullingham praised Wiegman as a "special coach" for her exceptional tournament record, work with players, and ability to maintain a cool head in critical moments. He dismissed suggestions that Wiegman should be considered for the England men's job, asserting it is disrespectful to view the men's role as more senior.
