Ad world shocked as bigwig files sexual harassment case against CEO

Ad world shocked as bigwig files sexual harassment case against CEO
ARUNA CHAKRAVORTY

MUMBAI, DECEMBER 4: This is perhaps as big as it gets. A sexual harassment suit -- against Sorab Mistry, chairman and CEO of advertising agency McCann Erickson, filed by Clarinda D'souza who used to be the company's vice-president (creative) -- has taken the ad world by storm. D'souza has claimed damages of Rs 1.6 crore.

It now transpires that D'souza filed the suit (2507/2000) in the Bombay High Court in May this year and obtained an interim order from the court of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. The order stays her transfer to Hyderabad, a move that D'souza claimed was a continuation of the sexual harassment she was subjected to since 1997. There have been no dates for further hearings since then. D'souza quit the company two months ago.

While Mistry's office refused to comment on the issue, it is clear from the complaint that D'souza had shared a relationship with Mistry before joining the company though she kept the personal and professional lives apart. However, Mistry did not do so but in fact used his professional power and authority to control and manipulate her personal and professional life, according to the complaint. D'souza claims that she was being subjected to ``humiliation and verbal abuse'' from February 1997, when their ``personal relations started deteriorating.''

D'souza was earlier vice-president and senior creative director with Hindustan Thompson Associates for 15 years before joining McCann Erickson on July 19, 1996. She claimed that before she joined the company, Mistry gave her to understand that it would be challenging after HTA but when she joined, she realised that the company was ``in its formative stage'' and was ``different from the impression''. She states that when she questioned Mistry about it, he was offended. The complaint says that from February 1997, she was routinely victimised, abused, ridiculed, and isolated from office staff, her salary was withheld for five months and salary hikes and promotions were denied to her.

She has also made Nikhil Nehru, president and chief operating officer; Charles Berley, head of the company's Mumbai office; Peter Hamilton, executive vice-president (worldwide) and regional director, Asia Pacific; Donna Borseo, worldwide HR director and Marico Moreira vice-chairman, chief creative officer and director of global brands, New York, respondents for participating in her harassment since she had reported to them but they had not ``prevented the on-going harassment although they had the power and authority to do so''.

According to her, the company ``retaliated against her'' proposing to transfer her to the Hyderabad office in the order of April 18, 2000. McCann-Erickson, when contacted refused to comment, though it was their counsel in the High Court who had asked for an expeditious hearing of the motion seeking to permanently stay the transfer order.

It is perhaps the second such suit claiming damages for sexual harassment filed in any court in the country. The first suit of a similar amount in damages was filed by Shehnaz Mudbhatkal, a former airhostess with Saudi Arabian Airlines. The Bombay High Court had upheld the trial court's judgement that she had been harassed and had directed the company to reinstate her.

After the news was first broken by The Brief, an ad magazine, last week the case has become the subject of discussion and speculation in the ad world but no one is willing to stick out his/her neck. Most shirked away from commenting, a few even said that it was nothing but media sensationalisation at its best. Prahlad Kakkar found the entire episode funny. ``Is Clarinda suing so many people for sexual harassment or is she suing McCann-Erickson for transfering her?'' he said.

Ramesh Narayan, president of Advertising Agencies Association of India, though believing the story was blown out of proportion by the media, said, ``Sexual harassment if it happens in any field is wrong. The advertising indusry has always encouraged and recognised that women have an equal role to play. It is sad that when the industry gets a mention, it is like this.''

-- (with inputs from ELIZABETH NINAN)