PulteGroup Board Terminates 2nd Executive Amid Management Social Media Scandal
Michelle Hairston, Senior Executive of PulteGroup, Terminated Nearly One Week After Unreleased Brandon Jones Bot Report
The Pulte Family Calls for Release of Bot Report
ATLANTA, March 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pulte Family, the founding family of Fortune 500 PulteGroup Inc, issued the following statement after a 2nd Executive of current CEO Ryan Marshall's was terminated, nearly one week after the unreleased probe into incoming COO Brandon Jones:
"Late last week, the PulteGroup Board of Directors' Compensation and Management Development Committee complied with a request made by former director William J. Pulte to remove terminated Senior Executive Michelle Hairston from the PulteGroup corporate website, as it presented a false representation to the public."
"This compliance request made by PulteGroup's Founder's protégé followed CEO Ryan Marshall's non-compliance with the same request transmitted earlier in the week."
Top Executive Michelle Hairston was terminated by Fortune 500 homebuilder, PulteGroup, after co-piloting the investigation into disgraced incoming COO, Brandon Jones. Hairston has also overseen a recent wave of layoffs at Pulte Homes.
Marshall's Management kept Hairston listed as a "Senior Vice President, Human Resources" on PulteGroup's website for over 30 days post-termination, according to SEC documents filed by General Counsel Todd Sheldon who too finds himself under scandal after attempting to scrub the Internet of his Twitter account.
"While we applaud the Board of Directors for finally taking down the website that falsely listed Ms. Hairston as an active executive, when CEO Ryan Marshall would not, and that confused PulteGroup shareholders and employees; the departures of Top Executives Brandon Jones and Michelle Hairston (the #2 and #3 executives) show that Current CEO Ryan Marshall has a chronic management problem that needs to be fixed immediately by the Board of Directors," said William J. Pulte of The Pulte Family.
Pulte continued, "Specifically, executives at PulteGroup should no longer be participating in harassment, bullying, corruption, retaliation, or vendettas toward employees, shareholders, our family, or others. This was a great company, and we intend on making sure it returns to its widely respected greatness."
CEO Marshall's hand-picked #2, Brandon Jones, was caught running a multi-pronged network of fictitious Twitter accounts ("bots") to harass prospective Pulte Homes homeowners and the Pulte family, which led to his termination.
The Pulte Family and relevant authorities will continue to investigate PulteGroup's Management team for the benefit of the general public, shareholders, and Pulte Homes employees.
Timeline of PulteGroup Management Scandal
- On January 20, 2023, PulteGroup Board of Directors Chairman Tom Folliard released a factually incorrect statement, declaring the Horn-Hairston (wherein John Horn from King & Spalding worked together with Michelle Hairston's Human Resources department to interrogate Pulte Homes employees who had nothing to do with Brandon Jones' social media usage which went unmonitored or allowed by Human Resources and the General Counsel's office, to attack The Pulte Family, The Pulte Founder, and former Pulte director) probe into Executive Jones's harassment campaign as complete.
- In the days after January 20, 2023, PulteGroup Board of Directors Chairman Tom Folliard, through counsel, claimed attorney-client privilege over the Horn-Hairston human resources report and said no disclosures would be made to the public or shareholders regarding the scope of Brandon Jones' social media abuse. PulteGroup represented to the public that there were no co-contractors, implying the company has no liability, and sought to soften the accusations of Jones to no avail, but still claimed privileged in an unusual twist of events.
- Members of the Pulte Family, which founded PulteGroup, and shareholders have privately inquired with the Board of Directors and CEO Ryan Marshall over concerns that certain fiduciary obligations may have been violated.
- On February 3, 2023, 10 days later, CEO Ryan Marshall represented to employees, in an internal communication, that because of a work software upgrade, Executive Hairston was resigning from PulteGroup. Shareholders are left in the dark and her termination was ruled "qualifying" by PulteGroup's Board of Directors, forgoing any additional disclosures. This follows a raise, bonus, and performance review of Hairston that suggested her longevity with the company.
- On February 6, 2023, CEO Ryan Marshall and General Counsel Todd Sheldon submitted SEC Form 10-K that may be incomplete and seek to protect personal reputations over public disclosure and maximizing shareholder returns.
- On Wednesday March 8, 2023 at 7:54 PM ET, after a month following Ms. Hairston's termination, William J. Pulte notified CEO Ryan Marshall that the PulteGroup website was making daily misrepresentations by stating that Ms. Hairston, a top 4 executive, was still employed with the company when she was not. PulteGroup is without a head of Human Resources as another line-of-succession was thrust into chaos by Marshall's Management Team.
- On Thursday March 9, 2023, at or around 11:00 AM ET, The Pulte Family notified the Board's Compensation and Management Development Committee about this misleading representation that Ms. Hairston was still with the company after CEO Ryan Marshall refused to correct the corporate website after 30+ days of misrepresentation.
- On Thursday March 9, 2023, before 12:15 PM ET, PulteGroup's website was taken offline with "403 errors" cited. Shortly before 5:00 PM ET PulteGroup's website no longer reflected Ms. Hairston as an executive. Human Resources is without any continuity or a lead. This affects talent retention and reviews.
The Pulte Family
William J. "Bill" Pulte founded Pulte Homes, today PulteGroup Inc, in 1950 at age 18. Over the decades, Bill Pulte built Pulte Homes into The #1 USA Homebuilder. In 2016, after retiring the first time, William J. Pulte (1932-2018) and his namesake and grandson William J. Pulte (b. 1988) successfully turned PulteGroup Inc around, even when non-PulteGroup family members supported the failed Dugas Management Team versus the Pulte Homes Founder William J. Pulte. Mr. Pulte (b. 1988) was a PulteGroup Director from 2016-2020. Bill Pulte's Twitter Philanthropy has over 3 million followers on Twitter and 1.7 million on Instagram, helping thousands of people and inspiring millions of people worldwide. Even after the passing of William J. Pulte (1932-2018), the Pulte's work together continues through a collection of Pulte founded organizations, including The Bill Pulte Foundation. The Pulte Family has multiple companies and investment vehicles.
SOURCE The Pulte Family
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