Pritzker firm linked to gender discrimination – Business News
A personal equity firm owned by members of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s household has been named in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging a Kentucky bourbon CEO referred to as a feminine government a “pushy bitch” as he pushed out a half dozen ladies from senior jobs on the company.
Sylvia E. Sanders, 62, alleged in a lawsuit filed Feb. 14 in Nelson County state courtroom that Mark Erwin, chief government at Bardstown Bourbon Co., engaged in “widespread discriminatory animus and slurs,” “improper protected classification jokes and commentary,” and “blatant racism, ageism and sexist/gender bias.”
Bardstown Bourbon Company is a Kentucky-based distillery that in 2022 was acquired by Pritzker Private Capital, the Chicago non-public equity firm co-founded and chaired by Tony Pritzker, the cousin of JB Pritzker.
A Kentucky-based bourbon distributor owned by a firm tied to Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) is being sued by a former human assets government. AP
Sanders’s lawyer, James Morris, informed The Post that when his shopper escalated her complaints to Pritzker management, the firm responded by flying down to the bourbon distillery’s places of work in Kentucky and bodily escorting her from the premises.
“They flew in within … 36 hours and walked her out,” Morris mentioned.
While the governor just isn’t concerned in Pritzker Private Capital’s day-to-day operations, the company is a component of the broader Pritzker household business empire, which incorporates the Hyatt resort chain.
The firm acquired Bardstown Bourbon in 2022 and oversees it by its holding company, Lofted Spirits.
Bardstown Bourbon mentioned the claims have no advantage, whereas Pritzker Private Capital didn’t reply for remark.
Sylvia E. Sanders, 62, alleges she was fired in 2024 in retaliation for reporting bullying and discrimination in opposition to ladies. LinkedIn
According to the grievance, the alleged misconduct included Erwin referring to advertising director Laurel Altman as a “pushy bitc…” earlier than correcting himself to say “pushy woman,” and later describing different senior ladies in comparable phrases.
The grievance alleges that a company picture shoot that includes nation music star Brad Paisley grew to become a flashpoint in Altman’s firing.
The lawsuit mentions a contentious photoshoot involving nation music star Brad Paisley. Getty Images
During a promotional occasion for Paisley’s bourbon model, American Highway Reserve, which was launched in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Company, Erwin allegedly referred to as Altman “pushy” after she tried to sit between Erwin and the nation music star during a picture shoot, the go well with states.
Sanders characterised the episode as half of a broader sample through which senior ladies had been labeled “pushy” or “emotional” whereas male counterparts weren’t disciplined in comparable fashion.
Mark Erwin was chief government at Bardstown Bourbon Company. Facebook / Bardstown Bourbon Company
Altman was later terminated, the grievance states, and changed by one other lady who was additionally in the end pushed out.
The submitting — first reported on by the Lexington Herald-Leader — claims at the very least a half-dozen feminine executives had been fired or pushed to resign between 2021 and 2024, together with the company’s chief financial officer, vice president of hospitality and vice president of contract gross sales.
In a separate report, the Herald-Leader cited former national model ambassador Samantha Montgomery, who mentioned she filed a 2021 grievance alleging then-marketing chief Herb Heneman used anti-gay slurs, pressured a youthful feminine worker to drink at a company occasion and engaged in reckless habits.
Erwin is alleged to have referred to a former feminine government as a “pushy bitch.” Instagram / Mark Erwin
Montgomery mentioned she confronted retaliation after reporting the conduct and that different ladies had additionally lodged complaints, echoing allegations within the broader whistleblower lawsuit describing a tradition of bullying, discrimination and retaliation in opposition to feminine staff.
Sanders served as Bardstown Bourbon’s vice president of human assets from 2019 till her termination in May 2024 and held an equity stake within the company.
In that function, she was chargeable for imposing anti-discrimination and compliance insurance policies and reporting misconduct to senior management, together with Erwin, Marino and Brickman.
Pritzker Private Capital, the Chicago-based non-public equity firm, acquired Bardstown Bourbon Company in 2022. Instagram / Bardstown Bourbon Company
Morris informed The Post his shopper can be searching for $10 million in damages, as well as to attorneys’ charges and “whatever punitive damages the jury would award,” arguing the case entails systemic discrimination and retaliation on the highest ranges of the company.
Morris mentioned Sanders raised her issues internally to Erwin, Marino and Brickman earlier than sending an eight-page memo after Erwin solicited complaints from senior workers.
The different people named within the lawsuit, together with Erwin, company president Peter Marino, holding company Lofted Spirits and Pritzker Private Capital working associate Christian Brickman, weren’t instantly out there for remark.
