Troubled to see people acting against company interests: Zilingo co-founder

Co-founder and former CEO Anktiti Bose had earlier alleged that she was suspended to suppress her harassment complaint

Singapore-based fashion technology startup Zilingo has been in news for some time now after the board fired co-founder and CEO Ankiti Bose over alleged discrepancies in the company's accounts.

However, Ankiti Bose earlier alleged that she was suspended to suppress her harassment complaint. In an email to Zilingo employees, Dhruv Kapoor, co-founder and chief technology and product officer, said that he was shocked to hear "false allegations" that there was a suppression of harassment complaint at Zilingo. 
 

“You may have heard that there is an allegation made that certain individuals at Zilingo 'suppressed' complaints of harassment. We've always had a culture that does not tolerate sexual harassment, workplace harassment, bullying or intimidation, and it's been deeply saddening to hear things that are so contrary to the kind of culture we've built,” Kapoor wrote in the email.

Media reports had suggested that the sexual harassment complaint was suppressed. In his email, Kapoor wrote: “Unfortunately, over the last few days, there have been some things said in the media that don't reflect either the kind of company that we've wanted to build, nor the kind of culture that I've seen around me in my time here. Reading this feels disheartening and all of this feels counterproductive to the company's goals, to our employees and our customers. We're troubled to see some people in the team act against the interests of the company, sometimes in a way that hurts Zilingo's reputation or the reputation of various people in the organization.”

A spokesperson for Zilingo did not respond to emailed queries.

Read the full text of the email here

Hi all

While the last few weeks have seen Zilingo's business & products continue their forward progress, I've also seen during this time a fair amount of talk in the press amidst the suspension of our CEO for an ongoing investigation. I wanted to address some of what's been written as well as be upfront about the belief, as many of you would've heard me share, that good culture and an encouraging work environment is a foundation stone of a good business. 

You may have heard that there is an allegation made that certain individuals at Zilingo 'suppressed' complaints of harassment. We've always had a culture that does not tolerate sexual harassment, workplace harassment, bullying or intimidation, and it's been deeply saddening to hear things that are so contrary to the kind of culture we've built. In rare cases when workplace issues were reported, we've always followed due process and taken strict action. There have even been cases where some of us (including me) have received threats from people after we took strict action (such as dismissal) on a workplace issue, but at the end of the day good work culture and a safe work environment for everyone is of paramount importance. 

What matters a whole lot for us is creating a work atmosphere that enables people to grow in their careers and helps us deliver our mission of bringing cutting-edge technology & services to the fashion & lifestyle industries. Over the years, as you know, numerous people — women as well as men — have joined Zilingo at a junior level and have grown with the company into positions of leadership, and it makes me as a leader truly proud and happy that we've been able to create a positive culture of growth. And while statistics rarely ever tell a full story, it's nevertheless true that Zilingo not only has a nearly even gender ratio but also has a number of leadership roles. These include country managers and SVPs of our business orgs, many of our senior engineering leaders, our senior product managers, our data & UX leads, leaders in the HR, finance, and legal teams, and many more. 

Unfortunately, over the last few days, there have been some things said in the media that don't reflect either the kind of company that we've wanted to build, nor the kind of culture that I've seen around me in my time here. Reading this feels disheartening and all of this feels counterproductive to the company's goals, to our employees and our customers. We're troubled to see some people in the team act against the interests of the company, sometimes in a way that hurts Zilingo's reputation or the reputation of various people in the organization.
 

I regret the distracting effect all of this is likely having on work, and I'm sorry that I've not been as present as I normally am in team meetings and discussions. I hope that things return to normal soon, that I'm able to talk to all of you often again, and that we have good things to look forward to in terms of the work we're doing. 

Finally, if you feel that we can do more, whether to combat harassment or make it easier to report sexual harassment or to explain official mechanisms of redressal for workplace issues, please write to your HR manager or Sonam or Aadi or me. No matter what the media has said over the last few days, I hope that you have personally found Zilingo's work culture to be positive and supportive in your time here. And if not, we'll always welcome your feedback, whether on our culture or anything else, so that we can see what we can do to make Zilingo an even better place.

Dhruv