Since late last year, there has been an array of CEOs quitting their high-profile, high-paying positions. The latest is Jide Zeitlin. He has resigned suddenly as chairman and chief executive officer of fashion giant Tapestry Inc. amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a woman before he joined the retailer, Bloomberg reported.
Tapestry is the owner of Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman It designs and markets clothes and accessories, such as handbags, leather goods, footwear, fragrance, jewelry, outerwear, ready-to-wear, scarves, sunwear, travel accessories, and watches.
The company’s board has hired law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP to investigate claims made by the woman. The woman, who asked not to be identified, said Zeitlin posed as a photographer more than a decade ago to lure her into a romantic relationship, a person close to the situation said.
Zeitlin had been in the CEO role for less than a year. He said in a message to the company posted on LinkedIn that the allegations were true, but that the relationship ended 13 years ago and “had nothing to do with my role at Tapestry.”
“I reached the conclusion this past weekend that this distraction will not allow me to meet my responsibilities as CEO,” Zeitlin said in the message to employees. “I hope you know how deeply I care about you and the company. The last thing I want is to add to the uncertainty each of you are already facing due to covid-19 and the economic downturn.”
Zeitlin is just one of several CEOS who has resigned recently.
In 2019, Steve Easterbrook was ousted as CEO of McDonald’s Corp. after news of a consensual relationship with a colleague. That same year, Jerry Stritzke resigned as president and CEO of sportswear company Recreational Equipment Inc. over a “consensual relationship between the REI CEO and the leader of another organization in the outdoor industry,” the company said at the time.
There have been other CEO departures under different circumstances. Bob Chapek, the long-time chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Co. stepped down after 15 years at the helm. Salesforce co-CEO Keith Block, who became co-CEO in 2018, stepped down in 2020 for personal reasons. Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, who has led the company for a decade, will step down at the end of the year and remain executive chairman, Fortune reported.
Zeitlin’s departure shrinks the number of Black CEOs running S&P 500 companies down. It means there are now only three Black CEOs in the Fortune 500, Business Insider reported. They are: Kenneth Frazier of pharmaceutical company Merck & Co.; Marvin Ellison of home improvement retailer Lowe’s; and Roger Ferguson, Jr. of insurance company TIAA.
This is the same number as it was in 2017, following American Express’s Kenneth Chenault retirement.
There are still no Black women serving as a Fortune 500 CEO. Only two Black women have ever led a Fortune 500 company — Ursula Burns, who served as CEO of Xerox from 2009 until 2016, and as chairwoman from 2010 to 2017; and Mary Winston who, in May 2019, became the interim CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond until November 2019.
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Zeitlin is also the founder of private investment firm Keffi Group, which he founded in 2006. Prior to this, he spent 20 years working at Goldman Sachs, where he held various positions, including global chief operating officer of the investment banking businesses.
His exiting his position also means one less high-profile voice against racism. previously was vocal on his experiences facing racism as a Black man and vocalized his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Bloomberg reported.
