2019 Employee Affair Revealed, MS Demands Resignation from Director Position
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] It has been revealed that early last year, the Microsoft (MS) board of directors demanded Bill Gates, the founder of MS, to resign from his director position over allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a female employee within the company.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 16th (local time), at the end of 2019, a female employee at MS reported to the company that she had an inappropriate relationship with Gates for several years, prompting the board to conduct an internal investigation.
Gates voluntarily resigned from his MS director position in March last year, just before the internal investigation concluded. At the time, he stated that the reason for his resignation was "to focus more on charitable activities."
Gates had successfully renewed his director position in December 2019 while the investigation was ongoing. However, the WSJ reported that the board members’ attitudes changed due to concerns about a key board member being involved in a sexual misconduct issue during the ongoing #Me Too movement, leading the board to request Gates’ resignation.
An MS spokesperson stated, "After receiving a report from an internal employee regarding an inappropriate relationship with Gates, we hired an external law firm to conduct an independent investigation."
On the other hand, Gates’ side denied the allegations, stating, "There was indeed an affair with the female employee in 2000, but the relationship ended immediately thereafter," and added, "Gates’ resignation from the director position has nothing to do with this issue."
It is known that Satya Nadella, the current CEO of MS, was also informed about this matter. Additionally, the female employee sent a letter containing these details to Gates’ wife, Melinda Gates. However, it has not been confirmed whether Melinda Gates actually read the letter.
According to previous WSJ reports, Melinda Gates had been preparing for divorce since 2019. According to testimonies from those around them, the reason behind the divorce was Melinda Gates’ concerns over Bill Gates’ friendship with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged as a minor sex offender.
Meanwhile, the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 16th that Gates tried to secretly resolve a sexual assault case committed by his close aide three years ago, which caused dissatisfaction from his wife Melinda. According to the report, in 2017, a woman who ran a bicycle shop in Kirkland, Washington, sent a letter to Bill and Melinda Gates, appealing that Michael Larson, a close aide of theirs, had sexually assaulted her. Bill Gates reportedly tried to handle the matter secretly. However, Melinda insisted that an external investigation should be conducted, which led to conflicts between the two.
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