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John Besh is stepping down from the company he created “to focus on his family” just days after a NOLA.COM report revealed that 25 women alleged sexual harassment at Besh Restaurant Group, reports Ian McNulty. John Besh was at the center of some of the allegations.
Shannon White, previously chief operations officer, will step into the role of chief executive officer that Besh formerly occupied. White says that the company is making some changes following NOLA.COM’s report, including hiring at outside agency to investigate whether unreported claims exist and creating an employee advisory committee. Additionally, the company will revise the sexual harassment code and the code of conduct, and offer counseling and a confidential hotline for employees to report violations.
The news was announced in an email to employees. McNulty reports that the email says that Besh stepped down from “all aspects of operations”, but the report did not say whether nothing about any change in Besh’s ownership stake in the company.
Besh Restaurant Group co-owner Mantilla was also named in the sexual harassment report by NOLA.com, but nothing was mentioned about his role in the company in the report.
