Away co-founder Steph Korey is reportedly back at the helm after stepping down last month as chief executive of the luggage start-up amid a backlash over accusations by former employees that Korey created a toxic work culture as detailed in an article by The Verge.
Lululemon COO Stuart Haselden was hired to become the new chief executive and was set to start the job today. Now he will be joining the company as co-CEO with Korey. In an interview with The New York Times, Korey said that the company’s board changed its mind after reconsidering the matter and concluding that it wasn’t the right move. She added that the board felt as if they fell victim to angry people on Twitter in acting on the situation.
Korey stepped down as CEO of the company she co-founded in the wake of an article by The Verge in early December that went viral and set off a social media firestorm. The article described a toxic workplace culture created by Korey based on interviews with company employees. At the time, Korey apologized on Twitter saying “I’m not proud of my behavior in those moments, and I’m sincerely sorry for what I said and how I said it. It was wrong, plain and simple.”
Away is now disputing the reporting in The Verge article and has hired a lawyer, according to The Times. However, it is unclear whether the company will bring a lawsuit.
