Ex-Carson CMO Sues Firm Over Handling of Sexual Assault
On Sept. 21, 2022, Gulick exchanged Microsoft Teams messages with Carson executive Burt White, who has since been named CEO.
In a series of messages, White “agreed with Mary Kate that Carson Group was not a professional organization and said he was ‘so filled with confusion, rage, and unsettledness’ that he could barely keep his camera on in meetings. He described himself as ‘fighting against all of what Carson [Group] is.’
“White described Carson Group having an ‘absence of leadership,’ a ‘swirl of discontent,’ and ‘being driven horribly.’ He criticized the ‘founder based culture,’ said Carson Group’s leadership had ‘driven the car’ into a ‘metaphorical ditch’ and insisted he did ‘not want to be associated with so much [Carson Group] does and stands for.’”
The suit goes on to explain that Gulick “indicated to her therapist that she was not doing well following a ‘major work-related incident,’” and that she was “struggling to maintain self-care and especially struggling to sleep.”
On Oct. 14, 2022, Gulick “was ultimately convinced by Hopkins to stay on at Carson Group as Senior Vice President, Advisor Marketing and Sales Enablement, a lesser role with less responsibility,” the suit states.
On Feb. 13, 2023, Gulick met with White and Shepherd. In the meeting, they gave her a generic offer of support, the suit states.
Gulick told White and Shepherd that the firm had “broken [her] like a twig,” and that she was working with several health care professionals to try and put herself back together. She shared with White and Shepherd that she was taking intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act for this.
On June 6, 2023, Burt White, who was at the time Carson Group’s managing partner and chief strategy officer, informed Gulick she was being terminated, the suit states.
White told Gulick “he felt she oscillated ‘between greatness and, I don’t know, unhappiness,’” the suit states. He “explained that he came into the meeting ‘with no plan,’ but that he wanted to exit her from the company,” the suit continues.
Gulick “explained that Carson had sapped all of her happiness, confidence, and general wellness, and that she was neither eating nor sleeping,” according to the suit.
She is seeking damages for mental and emotional distress, fear, anguish, humiliation, embarrassment, lost enjoyment of life, as well as lost wages, benefits, future earnings, salaries and fees.
Pictured: Mary Kate Gulick
