The Carson Group's failure to handle an alleged sexual assault at a conference by an employee of the firm left its former chief marketing officer psychologically scarred, according to a lawsuit filed in Nebraska federal court on Friday.
In her complaint, Mary Kate Gulick alleges that the firm did not adequately respond to allegations that a Carson employee had committed sexual assault and that former CEO Ron Carson made the decision to keep the employee at the company.
New Carson Group CEO Burt White and former president Teri Shepherd also appear in the complaint.
Gulick's lawsuit was first reported by Financial Advisor-IQ.
According to the complaint, Gulick approached then-Wealth Solutions Partner Jamie Hopkins (her direct supervisor) in the fall of 2022 about her “dissatisfaction with the toxic culture” at Carson.
Mary Kate Gulick
At the time, Hopkins allegedly told her that minority investor Carson Group no longer wanted her in the CMO role (Gulick earned a WealthManagement.com Falling Industry Award for CMO of the Year). Although not named in the complaint, Bain Capital took a strategic minority investment in Carson in July 2021.
In late 2022, Gulick helped plan and conduct an industry conference where a Carson Group employee allegedly sexually assaulted an attendee. Gulick learned of the complaint from an executive at the firm, who asked her to help provide emotional support to the victim. At the time, Shepherd assured Gulick that the attack “would be handled appropriately.”
But according to Gulick's complaint, it wasn't.
Read on complaint
That same month, Gulick traded messages on Microsoft Teams where White, then managing partner and chief strategy officer, thanked Gulick for “being a professional (sic) in an org (sic) that is not.”
In subsequent messages, White said he hadn't been himself since coming to Carson from LPL and felt like he was “fighting against everything that is Carson,” like he was “rejecting a bad organ implant.”
“The question is whether I stay long enough to change it – if I can – or if I have the energy to do it. We'll see what happens,” White wrote in the messages included in Gulick's complaint. “This firm needs a sharp right turn and frankly, this company has been run horribly.”
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According to the complaint, Gulick felt conflicted about staying at Carson despite Hopkins' continued prodding. She was uncomfortable with the way the firm handled the alleged sexual assault of their client and that the alleged assailant would not be fired.
According to the complaint, Carson Group Chief of Staff and Human Resources Leader Kelsey Ruwe later told Gulick that she disagreed with the decision not to fire the attacker, but “since the decision was made by Ron Carson himself, she had to support him.”
Hopkins eventually convinced Gulick to stay on board in a senior vice president role, which involved less responsibility. Gulick felt she owed it to the women on her team to stick with the company to protect them, since the Carson Group had taken no “meaningful action” after the alleged assault.
But Gulick was psychologically affected by the Carson Group's inaction, according to the complaint, telling Ruwe in January 2023, “she was not eating, barely sleeping, and experiencing physical health problems as a result of what the alleged sexual assault at the conference was like.” . is being treated”, the complaint states.
Gulick later learned that the alleged attacker, whom the firm still employed, had been allowed to travel to another conference. A source with knowledge of the situation said the employee in question is no longer with the firm.
“Mary Kate believed that by continuing to allow this individual to travel to conferences, Carson Group was recklessly and irresponsibly creating an unnecessary risk to female employees and conference attendees,” the complaint said.
Gulick's psychological health continued to suffer, and she eventually applied for (and received) intermittent medical leave from Carson. Although White and Shepherd told her that her “performance and demeanor before the conference call were exemplary,” she learned in February 2023 that she would receive only 75% of her target bonus for the second half of 2022.
According to the complaint, Gulick asked for an explanation and was told he was “communicating in a negative way.” She held a meeting that month with White and Shepherd.
“At the meeting, White and Shepherd gave Mary Kate a general offer of support. Mary Kate told White and Shepherd that the company had 'broken (her) like a twig' and that she was working with several health care professionals to try to pull herself together,” the complaint said.
But that same day, she met with a Carson Group executive about her review. According to the complaint, despite her need for medical leave due to mental health issues, the unnamed executive told Gulick that “it had been a disappointment to her over the past few months and that she needed to be 'less emotional' about the job.” .
A few months later, on June 6, 2023, White told Gulick he was being fired, the complaint states. White allegedly said that Gulick vacillated “between greatness and, I don't know, displeasure” and that he didn't have a set plan but wanted to “get him out” of the Carson Group.
“After Mary Kate explained the betrayal she felt when the Carson Group refused to do the right thing after the conference and how she felt the company did it against her, it had broken her trust in so many ways and that she was psychologically broken,” White told Mary Kate. he would have to move her termination date to the next day,” the complaint said.
In a statement, Carson Group CMO Heather Randolph Carter said the firm will “unequivocally contest” the allegations, vowing to “vigorously defend” itself against the allegations.
“Carson Group's people are its most important asset, and the organization remains committed to ensuring their continued well-being and helping them achieve their professional goals,” she said.
Gulick later joined FiComm Partners, a marketing agency specializing in the wealth management industry, as executive vice president of marketing. In the lawsuit, she is seeking “an amount that will fully and fairly compensate her for her injuries and damages,” including liquidated and punitive damages, attorneys' fees and “appropriate equitable and injunctive relief.” among others.
Gulick declined to comment, and Hopkins did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Ali Hibbs contributed to this report.