Last week, it came to light that pioneering vegan cheese entrepreneur Miyoko Schinner had not only parted ways with her namesake company, but that the split between the founder and the company she started had turned acrimonious with Miyoko’s Creamery suing Schinner for stealing company information, including the formulations for some of the brand’s products.
The news of Schinner’s departure broke on Thursday when the company issued a press release. The release said the company and Schinner had “parted ways as the company enters a new stage of growth” and that they had engaged with an executive search firm to find a leader to take the company “into its next stage of growth.”
A day later, news broke that the company had filed suit in California, accusing the founder of stealing critical IP and intentionally disrupting company operations as she hatched a plan to start a competing company.
“Instead of facilitating an orderly transition, following her termination as CEO, Schinner hatched a plot to steal the Company’s property, trade secrets, and confidential information so that she could create a competing company,” Miyoko’s said in the complaint, according to legal reporting site Law360. The company went on to claim that Schinner had downloaded 24 thousand documents from the company’s cloud storage, taken cheese cultures and new product prototypes from Miyoko Creamery’s warehouse, and had recruited other employees of the company to participate in the “scheme.”
After the company broke the news of Schinner’s departure via a press release, Schinner responded on Linkedin and said her removal as CEO occurred in June of 2022 and that “negotiations for my continued involvement stalled before Christmas.”
And on Sunday, Schinner posted again on Linkedin, responding to the news of the lawsuit:
I am shocked that certain board members have decided to file a lawsuit against me. There are wild untruths about me that are designed to destroy me and get me out of the way. I have been cooperative with the Company since my termination.
I fail to see how this is adding value to the brand that I — and other values-driven, passionate vegan former employees — worked so hard to build.
While I am eager to bring the truth to light, I am going to move with the care necessary to ensure that I am operating in accordance with my fiduciary duties as a Director and with applicable legal rules and guidelines. (while I remain a Director, I am uncertain of how much sway or say I actually have). As always, I thank you for your trust, your patience, and your support.
It is shocking to see the company sue its namesake founder, a high-profile entrepreneur and well-regarded industry pioneer. No doubt, the company knew it would suffer significant brand damage as news of the accusations spilled into public view, but apparently felt taking such drastic action was necessary.
We’ll keep following this story as it unfolds…
Leave a Reply