Carson Group Hits Back at Former Exec's Lawsuit

In its response, Carson says it admits Gulick spoke with Ruwe about terminating the accused employee but “denies the remaining allegations.”

In late 2022, Gulick found out the alleged assailant was still employed by Carson Group and was allowed to travel to another conference. The firm “admits that during the investigation of the complaint, the accused non-managerial employee traveled to a single work-related conference.” It adds that “no concerns were raised about this employee’s behavior/conduct by anyone at the conference (or at any time thereafter).” 

Concerning Gulick’s October 2022 discussion with Carson Group President Teri Shepherd about concerns over “the accused non-managerial employee’s travel,” the firm says that “in violation of [its] written policy protecting the confidentiality and privacy” of the individual who had alleged that they had been assaulted, Gulick “disclosed the complaint to others, including the supervisor of the accused non-managerial employee.”

Gulick’s Role at Carson Group

In late June 2022 — several months before the alleged sexual assault took place — Gulick’s then-supervisor Jamie Hopkins (who left the firm in September 2023) told her that “outside investors and/or consultants had expressed concerns with [her] skills, ability, and conduct towards others,” the suit states, affirming a situation described in Gulick’s lawsuit.

It adds that Gulick “acknowledged to Mr. Hopkins her belief that she did not have the right skill set to lead [Carson Group’s] current marketing initiatives and she expressed her intent/desire to return to agency work and her plan to voluntarily resign from [the firm].”

In August 2022, Carson says, Gulick asked Hopkins about the CMO search and was told that it had not begun. “He presented her with another leadership position. [Gulick] reminded Hopkins that she would not be staying with Carson and gave her formal notice of resignation.”

In September 2022, Carson Group’s then-Managing Partner and Chief Strategy Officer Burt White and Gulick exchanged messages via Microsoft Teams in which White said Carson Group had an “absence of leadership,” a “swirl of discontent,” and was “being driven horribly,” adding that the firm’s leaders had “driven the car” into a “metaphorical ditch.” 

The firm admitted that the messages were exchanged between Gulick and White, and asserted that they were “written documents which speak for themselves.” 

White became CEO after Ron Carson stepped down in April.

On June 6, 2023, White met with Gulick. Carson Group says that “he did not come to the meeting with a plan for her to leave the company … and that the meeting ended with White and [Gulick] jointly agreeing that [she] would leave [the firm] and her last day of employment would be June 7, 2023. 

Gulick demanded a jury trial. Carson Group says she is not entitled to one based on the claims in her complaint.

Allegations by Gulick, including that she was subject to “repeated demeaning and insulting  comments about her perceived inability or unwillingness to simply forget about the alleged sexual  assault by Carson Group’s employee, move on, and get over it,” as she asserts in the lawsuit, were denied by the firm in its response.

Pictured: Mary Kate Gulick and Burt White