Co-founder and president of GitHub, Tom Preston-Werner has resigned after an independent investigation into claims that he and his wife harassed a female employee.
Tom Preston-Werner was not explicitly named as part of the allegations until now. Most stakeholder however had figured out that he was the “co-founder” referred to by former developer Julie Ann Horvath, who quit last month due to what she says had become a hostile work environment.
Julie Ann Horvath claimed to have experienced sexism and gender-based harassment at GitHub. She also spoke out about Preston-Werner and his wife, who she says personally harassed her for two years, the former berating her in his office and the latter stalking her at work.
According to Horvath, the Preston-Warners were apparently concerned that she would undermine the company’s reputation, perhaps due to her outspokenness on the issues around women in tech.
CEO Chris Wanstrath was not clear about what the investigation turned up. He said there was no legal wrongdoing but “the investigator did find evidence of mistakes and errors of judgment,”. “In light of these findings, Tom has submitted his resignation, which the company has accepted.”
Julie Ann Horvath believes the investigation was a sham. “There was a series of conversations with a “mediator” who sought to relieve GitHub of any legal responsibility,” she said on Twitter. “There was no investigation.”
There was a series of conversations with a "mediator" who sought to relieve GitHub of any legal responsibility.
— Julie Ann Horvath (@nrrrdcore) April 21, 2014
