\u201cImportantly and personally, I have deep empathy for anyone who has ever experienced this type of harassment\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud of our workplace. Our current employees strongly recognise it as safe and inclusive, and we continue to work to make it even more so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rod Drury returned his New Zealander of the Year award last week as more women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. Photo \/ Mike Scott<\/p>\n
Naylor first raised Drury\u2019s conduct to Xero in 2016, leading to an internal investigation in 2017 – the findings of which have not been publicly released.<\/p>\n
Singh Cassidy said external counsel Maria Dew, KC, had been appointed to review the company\u2019s handling of the complaint because the board took these processes \u201cextremely seriously\u201d.<\/p>\n
She added that it was \u201cthe seriousness of the allegations that informed our approach to this matter\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to learning what we can do to further improve our processes through this review. This is part of our commitment to creating the safest possible environment for our employees going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
As pressure continues to mount on Drury, the businessman has withdrawn from several public engagements, including his keynote speaker role<\/a> at Electrify Queenstown at the end of the month.<\/p>\n He also faced fresh allegations last week as tech chief executive Jenene Crossan claimed he had made unwanted sexualised comments to her at a purported business meeting.<\/p>\n Drury has continued to deny the accusations despite returning his New Zealander of the Year Award<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I completely reject the recent allegations about me, I do not want the current situation to undermine the integrity of the awards or place further pressure on a great organisation before the relevant investigations and proper processes have been completed.\u201d<\/p>\n