Guess co-founder quits over allegations
NEWYORK/COPENHAGEN:PAUL Marciano, co-founder of the Guess fashion brand, resigned on Tuesday in the wake of an investigation into sexual assault claims.
Marciano “exercised poor judgment in his communications with models and photographers and in placing himself in situations in which plausible allegations of improper conduct could, and did, arise,” Guess said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
He has resigned effective immediately from his post as executive chairman but will remain the company’s chief creative officer and receive his salary until January 30 “to effect a smooth transfer of responsibilities,” the filing said.
The decision came after a unanimous vote by the board, from which Marciano and his brother Maurice recused themselves. The brothers co-founded the brand in 1981.
Two independent investigators looked into allegations of “inappropriate comments and texts, and unwanted advances including kissing and groping”, Guess said.
SWEDEN CHARGES MAN AT CENTRE OF NOBEL LITERATURE RAPE ROW
The man at the centre of a sexabuse and financial crimes scandal that is tarnishing the academy which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, was on Tuesday charged with two counts of rape of a woman in 2011.
A prosecutor said the evidence “is robust and sufficient for prosecution.”jean-claude Arnault, a well-known figure in Sweden who ran a cultural centre, has denied this and other sex abuse allegations.