BrewDog’s president has withdrawn from a prominent conference after a group of ex-employees signed an open letter exposing the “toxic” work culture at the company earlier this month.
David McDowall, president and chief operating officer of the Ellon’s brewery, has pulled out from a TED talk, TEDxAberdeen has announced.
The organisation tweeted: “Dave McDowall, President & COO of BrewDog, has withdrawn as a speaker at TEDxAberdeen.
“In light of allegations raised by open letter from ex-employees, Dave is focusing his energies with his team at this time.”
READ MORE: BrewDog boss issues apology admitting mistakes ‘100 per cent my fault’
Mr McDowall was due to speak of BrewDog’s successes drawing on the theme “David beating Goliath” on July 31.
The TEDx Aberdeen tweet was sent in response to another post, by Bar Division Stories, a Twitter account created to share stories from BrewDog’s former employees who were victims of harmful practices at the firm.
The group called for Mr McDowall’s withdrawal from the talk, sharing a 2013 Guardian article about a Glasgow club investigated for secretly installing a two-way mirror allowing male guests to spy on the women's toilets.
Mr McDowall had been a director at G1 Group PLC, which owned the club at the time, before joining the beer company in 2015.
The tweet read: “Hi @TEDx. Are you happy with the man responsible for this (and a succession of disgusting practices that we're about to expose, throughout his subsequent employment at BrewDog), being on your bill in Aberdeen next month?”
Dave McDowall, President & COO of Brewdog, has withdrawn as a speaker at TEDxAberdeen. In light of allegations raised by open letter from ex-employees , Dave is focusing his energies with his team at this time.
— TEDx Aberdeen (@tedxabz) June 24, 2021
A spokesperson from Bar Division Stories told the Herald: “We're pleased that his appalling behaviour is finally catching up with him, and we'll make sure that his actions at BrewDog are also brought to the public's attention.
“I'm fairly sure our tweet was a contributory factor in his withdrawal.”
READ MORE: BrewDog boss apologises after ex-employees write open letter criticising workplace
They added: “The Twitter page came from the huge amounts of BrewDog bar-specific stories we've been receiving, and our own experiences of working under these people.
“We want to hold them to account and drive positive change in a deeply flawed operation, led by some of the worst people in the industry.”
The announcement was retweeted by Punks with Purpose, the group behind the open letter.
They wrote: “We’re pleased to see signs that BrewDog’s senior management are stepping away from PR engagements to focus on getting their house in order.
“We’re looking forward to meaningful changes happening soon.”
Founder James Watt had apologised for the detrimental work environment at the company, which ex-employees said created a “residual feeling of fear”, admitting this was "100% my fault".
The company had also been accused of “vanity project” campaigns which were not reflected in practice - the firm’s recent climate drive while allegedly making use of a private jet.
READ MORE: Scottish businesses ‘don’t want to have the conversation’ about independence
Mr Watt said the brewery will launch a review of all its departments to ensure “positive and inclusive change at all levels”.
BrewDog has confirmed Mr McDowall “will be stepping back from public engagements to focus his energy on the BrewDog team and the work that is underway on our internal culture.”
TEDx Aberdeen has been contacted for comment.
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