Bloomberg News
Samsonite International SA said Friday its chief executive has resigned effective immediately, a week after a short seller claimed the executive had misrepresented himself as having a doctorate.
In filings to the Hong Kong exchange, the luggage maker said CEO Ramesh Tainwala resigned for personal reasons. The company also issued a rebuttal to allegations from the short seller, Blue Orca Capital LLC, of dodgy accounting practices and corporate governance.
Samsonite reiterated that the allegations are “one-sided and misleading” and that its financial disclosures are “an accurate reflection of the strong core fundamentals of the business.”
The disclosure comes after Soren Aandahl of Blue Orca issued a report last week saying Tainwala should be fired for claiming to be a doctor when he wasn’t. Tainwala later confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that he wasn’t a doctor despite the designation being included in at least two regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a decade ago and some regulatory filings in India.
Samsonite shares jumped more than 7% in early Friday trading.
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