This morning, Penguin Group annouced the appointment of Andrew Phillips to the post of President of Penguin International, responsable for Penguin's publishing operations in India, Africa, and the Middle East. He will be based in Delhi. Phillips came up through DK, a Penguin imprint that he joined in 2003, and will continue to expand DK's digital operations in Delhi.
David Davidar, who was recently asked to step down from his position as president of Penguin Group (Canada) after a former colleague filed a sexual harassment suit against him, has responded to the allegations with his own account of what happened.
When the reasons for Davidar’s sudden departure from Penguin were first made public by the company, he issued a brief denial of the allegations and promise to vigorously defend himself in court. At that time, he said he would make no further comment, but the statement issued this week by his lawyer Peter Downard begins by saying that Davidar has been subjected to repeated public attacks following the filing of a statement of claim against him and Penguin Canada by his former colleague Lisa Rundle. “The claimant’s counsel has facilitated media coverage of the claim. The public attacks require Mr. Davidar’s response,” Downard wrote.
An emphatic denial of allegations in Rundle’s statement of claim followed. “David Davidar has not has not sexually harassed anyone. He has not assaulted anyone. David Davidar had a consensual, flirtatious relationship that grew out of a close friendship with a colleague. He deeply regrets the hurt this has caused his wife.”
Davidar then detailed the progression of a friendship into a romantic relationship. He said the relationship included writing personal emails, reading poetry to Rundle, going to theatre, restaurants and tennis tournaments together and occasionally exchanging gifts. Davidar said that along the way he asked Ms. Rundle if she liked the attention he was paying her, and she indicated she did.
According to Davidar’s statement, he and Rundle kissed on two occasions: “The first was in Ms. Rundle’s room at the October 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair referred to in Ms. Rundle’s claim. However, contrary to Ms Rundle’s claim, Mr. Davidar did not bully his way into her room, nor did he force himself upon her.” His version also asserts that they went to dinner at a restaurant two days later and kissed again, this time in his hotel room, and that “she did nothing to convey to [him] that his attention was unwanted.”
In January 2010, Ms. Rundle requested a pay increase, Davidar said. Salaries at Penguin were frozen, however, he offered her the role of director digital publishing and foreign rights, which would include a pay increase of approximately $10,000.
The following month, after the death of his father, Davidar says he “took stock of his life,” and soon after told Rundle he could not continue his personal relationship with her and that “their relationship should be confined to business.” He says that within weeks of that conversation, Rundle said she no longer wished to have her new digital publishing responsibilities, despite his reminder that she would lose the salary increase.
Davidar’s statement goes on to say that although there were opportunities to report harassment anonymously Penguin, Rundle did not file her complaint until several months after the trip to Frankfurt.
He also asserts that a previous complaint by his former executive assistant Samantha Francis, mentioned in Rundle’s statement of claim, had been withdrawn. Davidar’s statement said he had engaged in “flirtatious banter” with Francis, but “did not engage in any conduct toward Ms. Francis that he knew or should have known was unwelcome.”
According to Davidar, in 2007, Francis told him that Penguin’s human resources department had misunderstood an enquiry she had made about his comments. She then “submitted a written note to the HR department, with copies to Mr. Davidar and the head of Pearson Canada, Penguin’s corporate parent, stating that she and Mr. Davidar had a personal misunderstanding which had been resolved. She indicated that she never intended to make a formal complaint, that she was withdrawing any such complaint, and that she wanted any mention of it expunged from Mr. Davidar’s personal record.”
However, Rundle’s lawyer sent a note to media last week that said, “Francis has had the opportunity to review the Statement of Claim, in particular, the references to incidents which occurred during her employment with Penguin Group (Canada). She confirms her strong support of Ms. Rundle, but as the matter is before the Court, she will not be commenting further at this time. “
