NEW YORK — Ronald Perelman is standing by Revlon president and chief executive officer Lorenzo Delpani.
Perelman’s support comes after a lawsuit was filed by a former Revlon employee alleging that he was fired in December after raising safety concerns and also discriminated against for being Jewish.
Perelman, Revlon’s chairman and owner, stated to WWD, “I know Lorenzo as an executive and as a person. The allegations made are both absurd and offensive to me and those around me. I personally know his mind and his character.” Perelman, who is Jewish and known to take his faith seriously, added, “He is among the least bigoted or biased humans I have ever known. He has my full support.”
Related Articles
In the suit, filed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Alan Meyers, who served as chief science officer at Revlon, said, in addition to disregarding safety concerns raised by Meyers, the Italian-born Delpani made disparaging remarks against Jews, blacks and Americans.
You May Also Like
Perelman, who is also chairman and ceo of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., has a history of taking swift action to abruptly change Revlon’s management team if he disagreed with a ceo’s course of action. His words of support would seem to indicate Delpani is staying put for now.
Revlon referred to the lawsuit as “completely meritless” and stated that it’s an attempt by Meyers “to distract from his own failed performance with sensational and offensive allegations.” Revlon stated, “Mr. Meyers repeatedly demonstrated critical lapses in judgment and failed to perform at the high standard we demand of our employees….We will aggressively fight these baseless claims and this frivolous action.”
A MacAndrews & Forbes spokeswoman said Meyers resigned last month.