Ferrari executives named over sexual relationships with their subordinates | FerrariChat

Ferrari executives named over sexual relationships with their subordinates

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by wrxmike, Jun 4, 2020.

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  1. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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    Published by "The Australian" newspaper today.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/two-more-ferrari-executives-named-over-sexual-relationships-with-their-subordinates/news-story/f5a25896f4c86811b8227bc80c337f5a

    "Two more Ferrari executives named over sexual relationships with their subordinates"

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    Herbert Appleroth, former Australasian head of Ferrari. Picture: Bloomberg

    Two of Ferrari’s most senior global executives have been named in Australian court documents as having had sexual relationships with their subordinates.

    The allegations have been made by the former Australasian head of Ferrari who claims he was wrongfully sacked for having an affair with a junior co-worker. This conduct was “not inconsistent with the expected behaviours of the CEO” or the company’s code of conduct, he says.

    Herbert Appleroth, the former chief executive and managing director of Ferrari Australasia, alleges it was a “notorious fact” within the company that senior executives “routinely” engaged in sexual relationships with more junior staff.

    The 47-year-old — an heir to the Aeroplane Jelly fortune — has accused the former head of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One Team, Maurizio Arrivabene, and the company’s global head of sales, Luca Zanetti, of having consensual sexual relations with more junior staff.

    Ferrari has yet to respond to a request for comment on the allegations against Mr Arrivabene or Mr Zanetti and declined to comment on the broader legal action.

    The allegations have not been tested in court because Mr Appleroth discontinued his legal action against Ferrari.

    Mr Appleroth alleges he was wrongfully sacked last October because of a consensual relationship with a more junior female co-worker.

    The pair had a child together.

    The relationship between Mr Appleroth and the female Ferrari employee lasted about 18 months. Their baby was born after the relationship had ended.

    The Federal Court on Wednesday issued a non-publication order to protect the identity of the woman and the child.

    Herbert Appleroth launched Federal Court action last month, seeking about $3m from Ferrari, before discontinuing the proceedings about two weeks later. Picture: Bloomberg
    Mr Appleroth is understood to have been in a relationship with another woman at the same time as the relationship with his co-worker. He has a six-year-old daughter with his former wife.

    Mr Appleroth launched Federal Court action last month, seeking about $3m from Ferrari in remuneration, entitlements and penalties, before discontinuing the proceedings about two weeks later.

    He alleged it was a “notorious fact” among senior officers of the company that “very senior officers of the Ferrari group of companies routinely conducted consensual sexual relations with subordinate employees without adverse consequence for their employment”.

    Mr Appleroth said he became aware last September that the woman had lodged a worker’s compensation claim.

    This was after she had contacted the company in February to discuss her potential return to work at the end of her maternity leave.

    Her allegations included that she was subjected to verbal abuse by Mr Appleroth, not given fair performance assessments and that Ferrari had been looking at ways to “get rid of” her if she returned to work.

    According to Mr Appleroth’s statement of claim, all communications related to the woman’s employment had been directed to the finance director to ensure there was no conflict of interest.

    Mr Appleroth was marched from Ferrari in October and told not to return to its offices or dealers. At the time, he said he had left to pursue his venture capital fund and philanthropic foundation.

    However, he was told at a meeting with global executives on October 22 that Ferrari had lost confidence in his ability to perform as CEO because of the loss of confidence of staff “demonstrated by the number of complaints” against him; the company’s exposure to legal claims arising out of his conduct towards “certain staff”, including sexual intercourse with a subordinate; and other alleged “inappropriate conduct towards staff members”.

    Mr Appleroth said in his statement of claim that he was not informed of the context or source of any of the allegations, other than his relationship with the woman, and that he was not given an opportunity to respond.

    The consensual sexual relations did not affect any of Ferrari’s legitimate business interests and no other allegation “had been investigated for veracity or accuracy”, he said.

    Mr Appleroth alleged that Ferrari’s termination of his employment was “dishonest” and caused him to forfeit his interests in performance stock units and restricted stock units that had been due to vest in March this year, next year and the following year.

    He had been head of Ferrari Australasia since June 2014, and was on a base annual salary of $320,000, an annual bonus of $160,000, plus super and the use of a company car. He received five weeks’ pay in lieu of notice.

    He launched legal action in the Federal Court after attempts at resolving the dispute at the Fair Work Commission failed.

    Mr Appleroth’s legal representative and spokeswoman, Rebekah Giles, principal of Company Giles, said her client had chosen to discontinue the proceedings “to put his family’s privacy ahead of seeking justice from his former employer”.

    She said after almost 20 years of loyal service, and his acknowledgment as an outstanding leader in the group’s Australian and international business divisions, Mr Appleroth had been “denied any natural justice relating to his departure from Ferrari”.

    “For the record, as many others including his former employer were well aware, my client had previously had a consenting relationship with a co-worker,” she said in a statement.

    “Mr Appleroth is distressed at his former employer’s lack of due process, the basis of his initial legal action.

    “However, he has since instructed his lawyers that he wishes to place his family’s privacy ahead of holding his former employer to account, and will now focus on the future, including pursuing his philanthropic passions.”

    A spokesman for Ferrari said: “The company does not comment on pending litigations.”

    Mr Appleroth tried unsuccessfully to have his court documents, which had not yet been served on Ferrari, suppressed.
     
  2. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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    Sydney Morning Herald
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/former-ferrari-australasia-boss-tried-to-talk-employee-into-abortion-court-papers-say-20200604-p54zp7.html


    Former Ferrari Australasia boss tried to talk employee into abortion, court papers say
    Samantha Hutchinson and Michael Evans
    June 4, 2020 — 8.09pm

    The former head of Ferrari in Australasia has been accused of trying to talk a subordinate into having an abortion after learning she had become pregnant during their office relationship.

    Herbert Appleroth, who was ousted as the boss of the luxury carmaker last November and is an heir to the Aeroplane Jelly fortune, launched a case for unlawful dismissal in the Federal Court against his former employer, seeking nearly $1 million in lost salary plus performance shares.

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    Former Ferrari Australia CEO Herbert Appleroth.Credit:Eamon Gallagher

    He quickly abandoned the case and sought an order making the court file confidential, fearing embarrassment to himself and his family.

    But court documents released to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age late on Thursday reveal how the consensual office relationship, which ran from 2016 to 2017 and bore Mr Appleroth a son in 2018, quickly soured when the woman who cannot be named for legal reasons became pregnant.
     
  3. Nospinzone

    Nospinzone F1 Veteran

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    What an idiot. Ferrari is better off without him.

    And for us Yanks, what is Areoplane Jelly? :)
     
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  4. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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  5. XSpeed

    XSpeed Formula Junior

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    so two had sex, both had consent. they have a baby.

    what does that have to do with where they work?
     
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  6. tbakowsky

    tbakowsky F1 World Champ
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    Nothing..just more ******** people obsess over. 2 sides to every story. Trouble is hers will always be believed over his..and that's the ********.
     
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  7. vrsurgeon

    vrsurgeon F1 World Champ
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    Was it consensual? Yes or No. If Yes, then it is a private matter IMHO and while against corporate policy (for a good reason) the only reason it's public is so her attorney can leverage it for increased child support. Which, BTW he should have factored into the equation having sex with a subordinate.
    He's an idiot and he better be really, really irreplaceable.
     
  8. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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    If it was consensual, I dont give a ****.
     
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  9. Ferrari 308 GTB

    Ferrari 308 GTB F1 Veteran

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    Looks like she was 'performing' quite oko_O
     
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  10. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Vegas baby
    Why should I give a dam what people do in their bedrooms?
     
  11. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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    There's more

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/ferrari-executive-herbert-appleroth-disowned-love-child/news-story/c83acfc4ffde8dc42ecbcc6e38280433

    Ferrari executive Appleroth: ‘keep mum on love child’
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    Former Ferarri Australasia chief executive Herbert Appleroth. Picture: Bloomberg
    Former Ferrari Australasia boss Herbert Appleroth asked his female junior co-worker to sign a confidentiality agreement in relation to his paternity of their love child and has no involvement in the baby’s life, court documents allege.

    Mr Appleroth, an heir to the Aeroplane Jelly fortune, has alleged he was unfairly sacked as chief executive and managing director of Ferrari Australasia last October because of his affair with the employee.

    The 47-year-old asked her during the later stage of her pregnancy to enter into a non-disclosure agreement “concerning his paternity” of the child, and she agreed, according to a report by the woman’s psychologist filed in court on Thursday.

    It says Mr Appleroth was not involved with the woman, now a single parent, or their child “outside legal correspondence”.

    As previously revealed by The Weekend Australian, Mr Appleroth launched Federal Court action in May, seeking about $3m from Ferrari in remuneration, entitlements and penalties, before discontinuing the proceedings about two weeks later.

    He claimed the affair, which ended after the woman became pregnant, was not against company policy and that it was a “notorious fact” within Ferrari that senior executives “routinely” engaged in sexual relationships with more junior staff.

    The psychologist’s report, released on Friday, reveals the enormous toll of the events on the woman. It says the “interpersonal strain” and “employment-related stress” caused her to suffer psychological injuries.

    The Federal Court agreed this week to make an order protecting the identity of the woman and the child for a year.

    The woman lodged a worker’s compensation claim with Ferrari last year after contacting the company about a potential return to work following her maternity leave, according to Mr Appleroth’s court documents.

    Her allegations included that Mr Appleroth tried to talk her into a termination of her pregnancy, and that he had subjected her to verbal abuse. She also alleged Ferrari had been looking at ways to “get rid of” her if she returned to work, and gave her unfair performance assessments.

    Mr Appleroth’s court documents accused two of Ferrari’s most senior executives — former head of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One Team Maurizio Arrivabene, and the company’s global head of sales, Luca Zanetti — of engaging in consensual sexual relations with more junior staff.

    The allegations have not been tested in court because Mr Appleroth discontinued his action against Ferrari, citing concerns for the privacy of his family.

    He has a six-year-old daughter to his ex-wife.

    At the time of his relationship with his co-worker, Mr Appleroth was also in a relationship with Sydney woman Bahar Etminan, founder of women’s lifestyle site Rescu.

    Mr Appleroth was marched from Ferrari in October and told not to return. He said publicly that he had left to pursue his venture capital fund and philanthropic foundation.
     
  12. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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    https://www.afr.com/rear-window/ferrari-s-saintly-ex-ceo-20200609-p550tf

    Ferrari's saintly ex-CEO

    Neil Chenoweth Senior writer

    The devout minds at The Australian have launched a campaign to canonise Ferrari Australasia’s former CEO, Herbert Appleroth. It’s a miracle.

    It’s not the conventional path to sainthood. Appleroth was sacked last October over an affair he had with a junior employee. He filed an unfair dismissal suit for $3 million on May 15, with a statement of claim packed with names and details.

    This included how the affair ended in late 2017 around the time the employee fell pregnant, and her subsequent workers compensation claim that he tried to talk her into an abortion.

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    Former Ferrari Australia CEO Herbert Appleroth . . . putting his family's privacy first. Eamon Gallagher

    Appleroth’s action was never served on Ferrari – after The Australian Financial Review's David Marin-Guzman requested access to the court file, Appleroth abruptly dropped the lawsuit on May 27 and applied for an order to keep the court documents confidential.

    On Tuesday, June 2, Justice John Snaden denied Appleroth’s confidentiality application, after arguments by Nine’s Fairfax Media Publications, but ordered the registry not to release the documents until late Thursday. Appleroth’s lawyers had asked for time to consider an appeal, such was their client’s aversion to publicity.

    Despite this – and this is the miraculous part – the Oz, which had not been a party to the proceedings, somehow obtained a copy of the court documents and splashed with them in Thursday’s paper.

    In the telling, Appleroth had become almost the hero in this sordid little tale, unfairly dismissed. The man was the next best thing to a whistleblower, pointing the spotlight at Ferrari’s culture, which was “notorious” for senior executives “routinely” having sexual relationships with junior staff.

    Maternity leave
    Always with an eye for the main story, the Oz described the workers compensation claims by his former lover of verbal abuse, unfair performance assessments and that Ferrari had been looking for ways to “get rid of her” if she returned to work.

    Returned to work after what? The Oz couldn’t bring itself to say “maternity leave”, or that Appleroth's lover was pregnant, or that she claimed he had tried to talk her into having an abortion.

    The Sydney Morning Herald led with the abortion claim on Friday after the court documents were released late Thursday. The Oz doubled down with another story naming “two more Ferrari executives” who had sex with junior employees, then a weekend piece which blamed the whole blow up on another woman. It certainly wasn’t Appleroth’s fault.

    All this while Rebekah Giles, Appleroth’s reputational risk lawyer, was telling the Oz her client had dropped the case “to put his family’s privacy ahead of seeking justice from his former employer”. An immaculate misconception.
     
  13. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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    Sex with a subordinate (ie at work ) is rarely seen as fully consensual. Saying that it's "Ok" because other senior people in the company do it is what 10 year old use to justify their behaviour. Trying to pressure the subordinate to have an abortion, is, well despicable.
    And noteworthy becasue he was a senior exec in the company with the worlds most recognised brand name, and his accusations have gone to the heart of Ferrari's corporate culture and named some of their key former and current staff.
     
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  14. Ferrari 308 GTB

    Ferrari 308 GTB F1 Veteran

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    This **** looks like Schmeeeeee:eek:
     
  15. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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    #15 wrxmike, Jun 18, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2020
    The employee he made preganant had nothing to do with this becoming public and has it nothing to do with child support. According to the media, her details have been supressed by the court to protect the child.

    As it says in the article, the matter became public because Appleroth made a claim for unfair dismissal against Ferrari in May 2020 which he subsequently tried to withdrawn a couple of weeks later.
    But under Australian law, once the claim was filed by Appleroth, the information in it became became propery of the court and hence was able to be accessed ( and was then reported in the Australian media ). Appleroths lawyers unsuccessfully argued to keep the matter private.
     
  16. Solid State

    Solid State F1 Veteran
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    Reputational risk lawyer? Not likely to get more clients after Mr. Applebee or whatever his name is.
     

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