Former Penguin staffer alleges that David Davidar assaulted her at Frankfurt Book Fair

The Globe and Mail has got hold of former Penguin Canada staffer Lisa Rundle’s sexual harassment claim against her old boss, the recently dismissed CEO of Penguin International, David Davidar. According to the Globe, Rundle is claiming $423,000 in damages against Penguin and another $100,000 in damages against Davidar personally.

The accusations are accompanied by quotations from several e-mail messages Mr. Davidar allegedly sent to Ms. Rundle during the period in question. Last year, he is said to have written that he “could do very little except think of [Ms. Rundle],” that she was “utterly gorgeous,” “a vision in pink sipping a champagne cocktail,” and that she should not be “stubborn” or “fight” him.

“Davidar over time became more and more intense with his persistent protestations of lust and desire for Lisa,” according to the claim, “and in return she became increasingly disturbed and afraid.”

The harassment allegedly culminated in an outright assault at the Frankfurt Book Fair last October when, according to the claim, Mr. Davidar appeared at Ms. Rundle’s hotel room door, “wearing excessive cologne, with buttons on his shirt undone down his waist.”

“Lisa stood in her hotel room into which Davidar had bullied his way, with her arms crossed, still near the door, and asked what he needed to discuss,” it said. “He told her to relax and just let him come in. She refused and said she wanted to go to sleep.”

Ms. Rundle claims she climbed on a windowsill to avoid her boss and again asked him to leave. “He forcibly pulled her off the ledge and grabbed her by the wrists, forcing his tongue into her mouth,” it said.

David Davidar asked to leave Penguin over sexual harassment allegations

Earlier this week, when news broke that Penguin Canada president David Davidar was resigning from the company, the explanation he gave Q&Q and the rest of the media was that he simply wanted to return to India with his wife, Rachna Davidar, and focus on his writing career. Late Friday afternoon, however, Penguin vice-president of marketing and publicity Yvonne Hunter sent out a rather shocking press release that flat-out contradicted his statements. The full text of the release is as follows:

Lisa Rundle, former Rights and Contracts Director of Penguin Canada, brought an action yesterday against David Davidar, the former President of Penguin Canada, alleging sexual harassment. Ms. Rundle also made a number of claims relating to Penguin Canada including wrongful termination.

Ms. Rundle was not terminated by Penguin Canada, but rather she advised the company of her decision to leave after having declined to pursue other career opportunities within the organization.

Mr. Davidar was asked to leave the company last month and his departure was announced on June 8. Mr. Davidar will play no further role in the company.

Penguin Canada expects to appoint a new head of the Canadian company in the near future.

Out of respect for the privacy of the individuals involved, the company will not provide further comment at this time.

Shortly after Penguin sent out its press release, Davidar himself sent the following message to Q&Q:

I was disappointed to learn today that Penguin Canada has made a public statement about litigation commenced against the company and myself.

Earlier this week it was announced that I would be leaving Penguin Canada.  At Penguin’s request, I agreed to publicly state that my departure was voluntary.  The truth is that a former colleague accused me of sexual harassment and Penguin terminated my employment.

I had a friendship with my colleague which lasted for three years.  I am utterly shocked by the allegations.  I am dismayed that Penguin Canada chose to respond to them by directing me to leave Penguin.  I intend to defend the allegations vigorously in the courts, and  I am certain that the truth will prevail.

As I said earlier this week, I intend to pursue my writing career. I do not intend to make further comment on the pending legal proceedings.

To add a bit of context to this unfolding story, Lisa Rundle started out at Penguin as contracts and rights assistant several years ago. On Oct. 31, 2005, Rundle announced that she was leaving the company for a position as rights and contracts coordinator at Random House of Canada. Almost immediately after that announcement, however, Rundle’s superior at Penguin, contracts manager Catherine MacGregor, left the company for a position with HarperCollins Canada. Consequently, Rundle changed her mind about leaving Penguin and stayed on to fill MacGregor’s role.

At the time, Davidar’s executive assistant Samantha Francis told Q&Q: “We went straight to Lisa [without interviewing anyone else.] We made her an excellent offer.” Also at that time, Davidar offered a statement through Francis: “Lisa Rundle is incredibly knowledgeable and is an excellent negotiator. She is someone I value very highly.”

In October of 2009, when Davidar became CEO of Penguin International and Nicole Winstanley took over as publisher, Rundle was promoted yet again, this time to director of rights and digital management. It is not clear when Rundle took leave of the company.

UPDATED: David Davidar to leave Penguin

Penguin Canada president David Davidar – who took over the firm in fall 2003 and has been widely credited with returning it to good health – will soon be leaving the company and returning to India, his homeland.

[UPDATE] According to Penguin Canada director of marketing and publicity Yvonne Hunter, Davidar will not be continuing on with Penguin India, either. He is leaving the company altogether to pursue his writing career and other projects.

John Makinson, the U.K.-based chairman and CEO of Penguin Group, flew in to Toronto yesterday to join Davidar in conveying the news to staff and to explain how the company will be structured going forward.

Once Davidar leaves – which is likely to happen in July – staff will begin reporting to Penguin U.S. CEO David Shanks. According to Hunter, this is a permanent arrangement and Davidar will not be replaced. The most senior figure at Penguin Canada will now be publisher Nicole Winstanley, who is going on maternity leave in August. Ivan Held, publisher of Putnam U.S., will oversee the publishing program in Winstanley’s absence, and Nick Garrison, formerly of Doubleday Canada, will be handling the editing on several of her titles. Both Shank and Held will be flying to the Toronto offices next week to meet with staff and hammer out more of the arrangements.

When asked if the new reporting structure might mean changes to the Canadian publishing program, Hunter was emphatic: “Absolutely not. We have a really dynamic publishing program … that we absolutely intend to sustain.” Meanwhile, Winstanley stated in a press release that “the Canadian division will continue to publish robustly…. The new imprints that we have launched (Hamish Hamilton Canada in 2009 and Allen Lane Canada this year) reiterate our commitment to publish the best writers in Canada and abroad … and that is the direction we’ll continue in.”

Penguin Canada will continue to ship all lines from the Pearson Canada distribution centre in Newmarket, Ontario.

David Davidar named CEO of Penguin International

Penguin Canada publisher and president David Davidar has been named CEO of Penguin International, a new division aimed at growing business in emerging markets around the world. In his new role, Davidar joins the heads of Penguin’s other major subsidiaries, each of whom will be overseeing a different global region, with Davidar focusing on Africa, the Middle East, and India; he will report to Penguin chairman John Makinson.

Before joining Penguin Canada in 2004, Davidar founded Penguin’s Indian division. The news of his new appointment was announced on Wednesday, and Davidar, who is currently attending the Frankfurt Book Fair, was unavailable for comment.