Sep 05, 2024 08:59 AM IST
Nykaa sued former CBO Gopal Asthana for breaching confidentiality and misappropriating data. The company claims he recruited former staff for Tata Cliq.
Beauty and fashion product retailer Nykaa sued its former chief business officer (CBO) Gopal Asthana, who now heads fashion business Tata Cliq, accusing him of breaching confidentiality as well as misappropriation of proprietary data and seeking to harm its business, it was reported. The complaint alleged that Gopal Asthana approached several Nykaa staffers who reported to him previously to join Tata Cliq. Some of them have made the switch over the past year, the company said as per a report in the Economic Times.
Nykaa said it had paid Gopal Asthana a significant remuneration, including long-term incentives and in stock options and it sought a refund of around ₹19 crore of employee stock option benefits availed of by him along with another ₹5 crore citing loss of goodwill.
The high court passed an interim order directing Gopal Asthana to not engage in hiring executives for Tata Cliq from Nykaa. Gopal Asthana joined Tata Cliq in June 2023 three months after his exit from Nykaa. Before Nykaa, he was at Shoppers Stop in various roles for over 21 years.
On the allegations, Gopal Asthana told Economic Times that they are “incorrect and they will get established in the arbitration. However, since the matter is sub-judice, I can’t comment on the same. The matter is between my former employer and me, and my current employer is not a party in the matter and therefore best left out in the discussion.”