Away CEO Steph Korey (pictured) has stepped down from her post
Away CEO Steph Korey has stepped down from her post just days after a damning report exposed the company’s ‘cutthroat culture’.
Korey, who co-founded the travel and lifestyle brand with Jennifer Rubio in 2016, will be replaced by former lululemon executive Stuart Haselden in January.
The current CEO will remain on the company’s Board of Directors as Executive Chairman.
The decision comes after an investigation by the Verge was published Thursday, in which a number of former employees described a ‘toxic’ environment at the brand.
They revealed how the company’s founders Korey and Rubio worked them to the bone while allegedly underpaying them and asking them not to take time off.
It was also said how the founders banned emails between staff about work, only allowing them to communicate on Slack, a popular workplace messaging device, where they favored group discussions that were company-wide.
Rubio is engaged to Slack’s CEO Stewart Butterfield.
The rules allowed them to publicly shame employees they were dissatisfied with, the article claims, leaving some so upset that they burst into tears.
Korey, who co-founded the travel and lifestyle brand with Jennifer Rubio (pictured together) in 2016, will be replaced by former lululemon executive Stuart Haselden
The current CEO (pictured) will remain on the company’s Board of Directors as Executive Chairman
Korey’s Slack messages, including one where she told a customer service team: ‘I am going to help you learn the career skill of accountability’, were published.
Other messages that were sent by customer service director Alexandra Pasanen were also published, including one where she told the team on November 31 that they could either take New Year’s Day off, as planned, and fall behind, or work and be given a month of paid time off at a later date.
One employee described having to turn her car around as she made her way to the airport to take a family Thanksgiving break because she was watching one of her team members being eviscerated by Korey on Slack.
‘Slack bullying is a thing’, said a former employee, known as Erica. ‘In my experience there, it’s extensive and relentless. It wasn’t just co-workers pinning things on other people — it came from the execs’.
In a press release on Monday, Away said the new CEO appointment was due to the ‘immense growth’ of the brand, which launched in New York City in 2016.
Away has gained more than $30million in funding since it launched in 2016
The company has also told the Wall Street Journal that plans to appoint a new CEO had been underway since the spring.
‘In light of the article, it’s been a difficult few days for the company’, Rubio said. ‘But we don’t want that to overshadow this announcement.’
Korey added in a statement about the appointment: ‘Stuart’s impressive track record in strategically scaling retail businesses and teams offers invaluable expertise as Away enters its next phase of growth.
Away found its niche as a direct-to-consumer travel brand (stock image)
‘I believe Stuart’s leadership, supported by other key executives who have joined Away this year, will have an enormous impact on our business, community, and culture, and we look forward to learning from his depth of experience.’
After the Verge investigation was published last week, Korey had apologised and claimed to be ‘appalled’ by her behaviour.
She told Business Insider: ‘I can imagine how people felt reading those messages from the past, because I was appalled to read them myself. I am sincerely sorry for what I said and how I said it.
‘It was wrong, plain and simple.’
Away found its niche as a direct-to-consumer travel brand offering consumers something unique; a stylish suitcase with functional features such as a USB charging doc which comes in an array of colors and finishes.
It propelled itself to become one of a handful of millennial-adored consumer brands by marketing online, mostly on social media, and utilizing celebrity power.
It is a private company which has raised more than $31million since founding in 2016.