Chief executive of $2bn start-up fired when planning on taking drugs at work
Marketing start-up Iterable dismissed its leader over violations of company policy, the business said in a note to employees on Monday.
The fired chief executive, Justin Zhu, said the board’s chief reason behind ousting him was that he took LSD, an illegitimate drug in the US, before a gathering in 2019. Mr Zhu said he was experimenting by taking a restricted amount of the drug, or microdosing, in an effort to boost his focus.
Within an email to staff, co-founder Andrew Boni said Mr Zhu’s dismissal was over unspecified violations of “Iterable’s Employee Handbook, policies and values”. The board replaced Mr Zhu with Mr Boni as leader, the e-mail said. A spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based company didn’t immediately give a comment.
Mr Zhu’s “behaviour also undermined the board’s confidence in Justin’s capability to lead the company in the years ahead” Mr Boni wrote in his note. He also described Mr Zhu as a “world-class innovator and imaginative thinker” whose “vision, creativeness and passion will remain a core part of our culture”.
Although the consumption of drugs like LSD remain controversial, they have gained acceptance in parts of Silicon Valley and in some medical circles. Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, told his biographer: “Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most crucial things in my own life.” MDMA, referred to as ecstasy, is currently at the meals and Drug Administration’s Phase III stage of testing for use to take care of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Iterable was founded in 2013 and has grown quickly, attracting customers such as for example DoorDash and Zillow Group. Its investors include Index Ventures, Charles River Ventures and Viking Global Investors. It is valued at about $2 billion, according to analyze firm PitchBook.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
