Ralph Lauren’s Howard Smith Resigns After Personal Conduct Allegations – WWD

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Ralph Lauren Corp. said Howard Smith, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, resigned after he was found to violate the firm’s code of business conduct and ethics.

Smith is stepping down immediately, but the resignation is effective April 2 and the matter is unrelated to the company’s financial reporting or business reporting, the firm said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We are saddened by this situation and recognize that this news will come as a surprise,” executive chairman and chief creative officer Ralph Lauren and president and chief executive officer Patrice Louvet told employees in an internal memo obtained by WWD.

“However, upon recently learning about allegations related to Howard’s personal conduct, our board of directors launched an independent investigation, which is its responsibility whenever such allegations are raised,” they said. “Because the investigation revealed conduct that violated our code of conduct and other policies, it was decided that Howard would resign. You should know that these issues do not concern the company’s financials or performance.

“We have great confidence in our strong bench of leaders in every region who already oversee the day-to-day business,” Lauren and Louvet said. “Together, we will continue to build on our momentum and realize the many opportunities ahead for our iconic brand. A number of these leaders will report to Patrice on an interim basis – they have been made aware, and you can expect a more detailed plan on this interim organizational structure shortly.”

It is not clear just what company policies Smith violated, although the fact that he was allowed to resign and not fired could suggest something about the severity of the violations. He is the second high-profile fashion industry executive to lose their job after violating company policies. The Estee Lauder Cos. executive vice president John Demsey was recently ousted after posting a racist meme on Instagram.

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