AwayLuggage: Toxic Work Culture at a Female-Led Organization

Abstract

This case is about AwayLuggage (henceforth referred to as Away), cofounded in 2015 by Stephanie Korey (the CEO) and Jen Rubio. Despite being a start-up, the company reported profits and became a USD 1 billion company by 2019. However, in December 2019, The Verge published a story on Away, revealing its toxic work culture and the behavioral traits of its CEO, such as not providing appropriate working conditions for employees, not approving leave, or forcing employees to use a workplace messaging application instead of e-mails for internal communication. Following this article, Korey apologized and resigned from her post as CEO. Stuart Haselden, an ex-Lululemon executive, was appointed as the new CEO, but within a few weeks of his appointment, in January 2020, Korey announced that she was rejoining the firm as co-CEO. Did Korey make the right decision by joining as the CEO? How can she improve the toxic culture at Away?

This case was prepared for inclusion in Sage Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.

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