Carta, the equity management startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and last valued at $7.4 billion, has become entangled in an astounding web of litigation, including, in one recently filed case, allegations of groping by one of its senior executives.
Two former employees, both of whom are women, have filed separate claims in San Francisco’s Superior Court in recent months against Carta, neither of which has been previously reported, alleging instances of sexual harrassment or sex discrimination, according to the complaints reviewed by Coins2Day. That’s on top of two ongoing lawsuits Carta has initiated against two of its former executives, as well as a gender discrimination lawsuit that the company settled earlier this year.
The most recent lawsuit, filed in August by former sales manager Alexandra Rogers, accuses Chief Revenue Officer Jeff Perry of inappropriately touching her leg at work events and accuses both Perry and CEO Henry Ward of engaging “in a sustained pattern of sexual harassment and retaliation” that led to her termination (Ward was later dismissed as a defendant in the lawsuit). The second former employee, Amanda Sheets, lodged a complaint against the company in May, accusing Carta and Perry of discriminating against her based on her gender, and treating her request for a disability accommodation differently than for male peers.
In court filings, Perry and Carta vehemently deny allegations against them.
“Perry never at any time interacted with Rogers in a sexual or inappropriate manner, never touched her inappropriately, and never harassed her in any way,” according to the reply Perry filed in court Wednesday morning. Also on Wednesday, Perry filed a defamation cross-complaint against Rogers, alleging that she had “targeted Perry” and had “began to create evidence to smear him and his reputation with false statements” when she believed her job might be threatened. (Rogers’ attorney, Kyle Wilson of Ottinger Employment Law, says of the counterclaim: “These arguments are straight out of the defense victim-blaming toolbox… We remain confident that any jury looking at the facts will side with Allie.”)
In regards to Sheets’ earlier lawsuit, both Carta and Perry said in filings that each “generally denies each and every allegation and cause of action” and refer to the allegations in the complaint as “unverified.” A Carta spokeswoman declined to comment further on behalf of the company, Perry, and Ward. Perry and his attorneys did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In her complaint, Rogers—who worked as a sales manager at the company until July 2023—claims that, while she was waiting in line for the bathroom at a work outing happy hour in June 2022, Perry “walked by her, slapped the top of her thigh, and grasped it in his hand,” the complaint says. Rogers alleges that Perry also took a photo of her at the event and that he “proceeded to inappropriately circulate this photo with her colleagues.” Two months later at a company sales dinner, Rogers alleges that Perry “reached under the table” and “placed his hand” on her leg on two separate occasions. She also alleges that he stroked her arm above the table. (In response to these claims, Perry, via court filings, said that he never took an inappropriate picture of Rogers and “never touched Rogers inappropriately in any way.” He also alleged that Rogers “continued to pursue interactions with him, including regular one-on-one meetings in person, inviting him to happy hours, and organizing group dinners” afterwards.)
Rogers reported the instances in June 2023, and she argues that Carta “repeatedly shifted blame” to Rogers and did not discipline Perry, according to the suit. (Perry, in the cross-complaint, alleges that Rogers submitted the complaint to HR two days after a meeting where she allegedly “did not perform well”)
In the complaint, Rogers accused Ward, the CEO, of singling her out and demeaning her in front of her colleagues after she complained to HR. In June of this year, Rogers sent a letter via her attorney to Carta’s HR department, detailing the behavior, and she says she was terminated the next month as part of a broader layoff event.
Rogers’ lawsuit also detailed other instances against an unnamed female employee, including an alleged instance in 2017 where a former product manager woke up in a corporate apartment to “discover a male senior co-worker naked in front of her.” (Carta didn’t respond to a request for comment on the matter.)
“Carta has a well-documented and notorious reputation for misogyny and tolerance of sexual harassment,” Rogers wrote in her lawsuit. “Any who dare speak up and complain about unfair treatment are ignored and/or retaliated against.”
The other lawsuit was filed this Spring by Sheets and accused Carta of discriminating against her based on her sex. Sheets, who says she suffers from chronic migraines, was allegedly denied an exception to work from home in 2022, according to the complaint.
In the complaint, Sheets alleges that her male colleagues who were also working remotely, had not received the same scrutiny.
Sheets alleges she gave Carta a note from her medical provider along with the necessary accommodation paperwork, and was terminated two days later based on “sudden and previously unknown purported performance issues.” (Carta denied the allegations in subsequent court filings)
The two lawsuits are the latest jolts in a seemingly endless storm of turmoil rocking the highly-valued equity startup. Carta, which has raised more than $1.1 billion from investors including a16z, Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Silver Lake Partners, has suffered from high turnover—losing numerous executives in recent years, including two chief technology officers, a chief product officer, chief compliance officer, and chief strategy officer. Founded in 2012, the San Francisco-based startup had approximately 1,800 employees as of this summer.
Earlier this year, Carta settled high-profile claims filed by Carta’s former vice president of marketing, Emily Kramer, who had sued the company for discrimination and wrongful termination. There are two ongoing lawsuits that Carta has filed against two former executives. At the end of last year, it filed a suit against its former Chief Technology Officer, Jerry Talton, over recordings he allegedly took of a conversation with Carta’s general counsel and other executives. (“The allegations towards Jerry Talton are totally false in every respect and are fueled by revenge from Henry Ward,” Talton’s attorney, Ann Olivarius, says of the claims). And, more recently, Carta sued its former Chief Product Officer, Heidi Johnson, demanding she turn over those same recordings. (Johnson didn’t return a request for comment)
The company has also faced press about the company’s culture for years outside of the courtroom, including a New York Times story about CEO Ward’s leadership that was published in late 2020 and then a public essay about Carta’s culture published by a former senior employee on Medium in 2020.
