Erie Times-News: “[McCormick] Told Her That if She Ever Broke the Agreement, She Would Be in Litigation for the Rest of Her Life”
PENNSYLVANIA — Breaking reporting from the USA Today Network has revealed that as CEO of Bridgewater Associates, David McCormick pressed former Bridgewater employees to remain silent about unwanted sexual advances they said they experienced at the company.
The report details that among other things, David McCormick pressured an employee to be a “supportive public presence” after she reported harassment by another senior official. McCormick reportedly told another female employee who had been sexually harassed that “she would be in litigation for the rest of her life” if she broke her silence.
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- It describes controversial decisions McCormick made as CEO, such as encouraging close relationships with an oil company owned by the Saudi Arabia royal family, and instances when he pressed former Bridgewater employees to remain silent about unwanted sexual advances they said they experienced at the company.
- Woman said McCormick pressed her to be ‘supportive public presence’ after she alleged impropriety
- In one case, a female employee accused then-CEO Greg Jensen of grabbing her bottom during a party. Dalio examined video footage from the gathering and told the woman, Katina Stefanova, he didn’t see any evidence that the touching had occurred. She let the allegations go at the time, according to the book.
- Stefanova, who was later fired for breaking one of Bridgewater’s personal trading policies, founded her own company. The book describes how years after the fact, Dalio called her to a meeting with McCormick, purportedly to discuss her business venture.
- During the sit-down meeting at a diner, McCormick brought up that he’d heard journalists were looking into allegations of impropriety by Jensen and others at Bridgwater. Dalio pushed the woman to deny that Jensen had ever groped her.
- “She reminded (Dalio) that she had never recanted her story. ‘Maybe you’re remembering it wrong,’ Dalio offered. Stefanova assured him that she wasn’t,” according to Copeland’s book. “McCormick piped up, leaning in, ‘Maybe the issue is that you aren’t being a supportive public presence for us.’ Finally, Stefanova understood the urgency of the meeting. … Dalio and McCormick had just wanted to remind her that they had the power to destroy her business if she didn’t toe the line.”
- Another woman said McCormick warned her she’d be mired in litigation if she broke silence
- Another time, a female Bridgewater employee complained that a male colleague was making her feel uncomfortable; at one point, she said the man cornered her in a conference room late in the evening, and she threatened to press charges against him if he continued to approach her, according to the book.
- She also complained to the Bridgewater legal team that many generally felt afraid and pressured by men at the firm.
- And after she began dating a coworker, her boss at Bridgewater handed her a calendar and asked her to mark off the days the couple had had sex, according to the book.
- Ultimately, Copeland writes, the woman left “with a severance and settlement that barred her from talking about her experience.”
- “Shortly before leaving, she also received an unexpected in-person visit from Bridgewater co-CEO David McCormick. He told her that if she ever broke the agreement, she would be in litigation for the rest of her life.”
- McCormick’s campaign didn’t speak directly to the situations involving this woman and Stefanova […]
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