Tapestry CEO Jide Zeitlin resigned suddenly Tuesday less than a year after being named to the company’s top position.
The luxury goods company, which owns Coach and Kate Spade, cited “personal reasons” for his departure. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, Zeitlin is leaving following an investigation started by Tapestry’s board of directors. The Journal reported that a woman accused him of posing as a photographer and coerced her into romantic relationship roughly a decade ago.
Zeitlin confirmed elements of the incident in a statement given to the Journal.
“In the past month, a woman I photographed and had a relationship with more than ten years ago reached out to various media organizations to express her concerns about what had occurred,” Zeitlin said, according to the newspaper. “I felt compelled to resign today because I do not want to create a distraction for Tapestry, a company I care deeply about.”
Tapestry (TPR) said Chief Financial Officer Joanne Crevoiserat will become interim CEO effective immediately. The company will begin a search for internal and external candidates to fill Zeitlin’s position.
“Mr. Zeitlin’s departure was not due to any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operations, financial statements or accounting,” Tapestry said in a regulatory filing. He will also no longer serve on its board.
Zeitlin has been with the company in various roles since 2006, before being named as its CEO in September 2019. He was just one of four Black CEO’s that run Fortune 500 companies and recently spoke out about the death of George Floyd.
Zeitlin was born to a single mother in Nigeria before being adopted at the age of 5 by an American family who lived in Nigeria and employed his young mother. He spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs (GS) before joining Tapestry.
Tapestry’s shares rose nearly 4% Tuesday.
