One of America's Best-Paid CEOs Abruptly Steps Down

In July, Kiwi Camara made it onto a list of America's 10 highest-paid CEOs, with a 2022 compensation package higher than that of Apple's Tim Cook. But he abruptly resigned this month, giving up stock options that were worth around $110 million at one point. CS Disco, which makes software for lawyers, didn't explain the sudden departure but the Wall Street Journal reports that it came days after the 39-year-old was accused of groping a young employee. Employees told the Journal that after drinks near the company's Austin headquarters on Sept. 6. Camara shoved roasted meat in the woman's face at a restaurant and told her to eat it "like an animal."

Employees told the Journal that Camara groped the woman and tried to persuade the "visibly uncomfortable" employee to come back to his condo. He left after other employees intervened. The incident was reported the same night and a law firm opened an investigation on behalf of the board the same day, the Journal reports. Camara resigned three days later. According to the Journal's sources, Camara regularly hosted boozy gatherings for employees and there had been several previous complaints about the CEO's treatment of young female staffers. He allegedly liked to surround himself with young women and would go through photographs when choosing receptionists to hire, according to a 2018 lawsuit.

Camara was just 19 years when he became the youngest-ever Harvard Law School graduate, Bloomberg Law reports. Fortune reports that he used a racial slur in a class outline in 2002, which he said led to him being turned down by major law firms after graduation. He co-founded CS Disco when he was 29. The company, which uses artificial intelligence to help lawyers search for documents, has seen its share price fall more than 80% since its 2021 IPO and it dropped again after Camara's departure. The Journal reports that board member Scott Hill has been appointed interim CEO. When asked about sexual assault rumors at a meeting last week, Hill said there was a zero-tolerance policy. (More CEO stories.)