A Seattle CEO who stated in 2015 that he would take a significant pay reduction to help cover the expense of large raises for his staff has resigned, one day before a bombshell news article said he had a record of assaulting women.
Wednesday, Dan Price, CEO of credit card processing business Gravity Payments, resigned, citing his “distracting presence” at the company. “I must also walk away from these responsibilities in order to devote my whole attention to defending myself against baseless charges,” he said. “I will not travel anyplace.”
Prosecutors in Seattle accused Price with misdemeanor assault against a lady and careless driving earlier this year. According to the prosecution, Price attempted to forcibly kiss a woman. In May, he entered a not-guilty plea, and the case is still underway.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that more than a dozen women have accused Price of “predatory” behavior. According to the Times, his ex-wife, Kristie Colon, said that Price was physically violent, and a woman he dated, Kacie Margis, accused him of raping her.
Price informed the newspaper that he had “never physically or sexually harmed anyone” and that “the other allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women in this report are completely incorrect.” He did not reply to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment.
Seven years ago, Price shocked his more than 100 employees when he said he would be reducing his compensation from almost $1 million to $70,000 and utilizing business revenues to assure that everyone would receive at least that amount within three years. That was a 46% increase from the $48,000 average yearly compensation at Gravity Payments at the time. About 70 staff received rises, with 30 seeing their pay double.
Price stated in 2016: “I’m really thrilled with how people’s lives are improving, because they deserve it, and they deserve every penny.” “For me to make the sacrifice in the near term, this is preferable than a Palm Springs or Hamptons holiday property. I assure you that this will be profitable.”
This Monday, Price tweeted that Gravity Payments now pays its staff a minimum wage of $80,000 per year.
Price, 38, has encountered more legal issues. In 2015, his brother Lucas filed a lawsuit against him, saying that Dan Price overpaid himself and mismanaged the business. A judge in King County decided that Dan had not violated Lucas’ minority shareholder rights.
In the same year, allegations that Price had mistreated his ex-wife Kristie Colon arose. In an October 2015 TEDx lecture, Colon reported being assaulted and waterboarded by her ex, without name Price, according to a Bloomberg story. According to Price, these incidents “never occurred.”
Tammi Kroll, chief operational officer, will succeed as CEO of Gravity Payments.
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