This text initially appeared on Enterprise Insider.
Ross Levinsohn blasted The Area Group’s board of administrators in a resignation letter, citing the current layoffs at Sports activities Illustrated and accusing different board members of unlawful and negligent habits.
Levinsohn is the previous CEO of The Area Group — which publishes Sports activities Illustrated, Males’s Journal, and different media manufacturers. He was ousted as CEO in December, weeks after Sports activities Illustrated was accused of publishing AI-generated articles underneath pretend creator names, however remained chairman of the board.
Sports activities Illustrated laid off most of its employees final week, leaving the way forward for the long-lasting journal up within the air.
He initially posted about his resignation on LinkedIn final week, however leveled new accusations in his outgoing letter, which is undated.
Within the letter, Levinsohn cited the layoffs and “union-busting ways” as causes for his resignation. He additionally accused the board of appearing illegally and negligently. He didn’t present particulars on his accusations however stated he anticipates shareholder lawsuits.
Levinsohn declined to remark to Enterprise Insider.
In an announcement, The Area Group stated: “The Firm disagrees with the feedback within the Resignation E-mail. The Firm believes that Mr. Levinsohn’s feedback are reflective of a disgruntled former government who was terminated on December 11, 2023.”
“The members of the Board take their fiduciary duties and duties significantly,” the corporate continued in its assertion. “The Firm’s selections relating to working bills, strategic transactions, or in any other case, adopted considerate course of and deliberation and have been decided to be in the perfect curiosity of the Firm and its stockholders.”
Learn Levinsohn’s resignation letter under:
To The Area Group and the Board of Administrators thereof:
Efficient instantly, I’m resigning my place as a board member of The Area Group.
The abhorrent actions of this board over the previous six weeks depart me no alternative however to resign, regardless of the years of my life I’ve put into this firm and my worry that the actions which have been taken over the previous a number of months have put this firm, its staff, and shareholders at important threat. The feckless actions and boards lack of ability to face as much as the calls for of a minority shareholder and his two board representatives has positioned the corporate in extreme misery, and watching what’s transpiring in actual time makes it unattainable to proceed to serve. At this time’s obliteration of Sports activities Illustrated’s storied newsroom and the union busting ways is the final straw. These actions and the inaction of this board are unlawful, riddled with self-dealing, and can nearly definitely result in shareholder lawsuits. In my greater than 30 years within private and non-private corporations, I’ve by no means witnessed extra negligence in my profession.
Ross Levinsohn
