By Hema Parmar and Peter Blumberg, Bloomberg
Hedge fund Woodline Partners settled a lawsuit with a former employee over allegations that one of its co-founders sexually harassed staff and contributed to a hostile and misogynous work environment.
Moments before a trial was set to begin Wednesday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Garrett Wong told jurors that a confidential settlement had been reached the night before.
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Danielle Kesich, a former executive admin at the hedge fund, said in court filings that Woodline co-founder Karl Kroeker, objectified women and made inappropriate comments. Those included “unwanted personal inquiries, and repeated sexually charged ‘hypotheticals,’” according to documents prepared for trial.
Carney Shegerian, a lawyer for Kesich, declined to comment beyond confirming the matter is resolved. Neither Woodline nor a lawyer for the fund responded to messages seeking comment.
Woodline has previously denied the claims and said Kesich didn’t raise any issues when she was an employee. The fund has said it hired an independent attorney who conducted an investigation that concluded the Kesich’s allegations were unsubstantiated. Kroeker was the only co-founder named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Kroeker and Mike Rockefeller launched Woodline in 2019, attracting $2 billion in commitments and becoming one of the year’s biggest debuts. At the time, fundraising was challenged by investors who were cautious about the industry’s expensive fees and middling performance. The firm soon swelled, however, and by 2023 was running $6 billion.
The case is Danielle (Kesich) di Bari v. Woodline Partners LP, 23-608127, California Superior Court (San Francisco).
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