Stryker, Monsanto director Parfet steps down
Stryker (NYSE:SYK) and Monsanto (NYSE:MON) said this week that board member William Parfet stepped down from their boards, but declined to reveal the reason behind the abrupt departures.
Parfet, who joined Stryker’s board in 1993 and was a director at the agribusiness giant for 16 years, stepped down effective August 31, according to regulatory filings.
A Stryker spokeswoman declined to comment on the reason behind Parfet’s departure from the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company, MILive reported.
Last month, Parfet was named in a sexual harassment suit by a longtime colleague, Shuang Zhang, who alleges that he coerced her into a sexual relationship, accuses him of fathering 2 children and allegedly promising to support them in return for continued sexual relations with Zhang.
“However, defendant Parfet refused to publicly acknowledge their children and he also refused to provide any financial or emotional support,” the lawsuit alleges, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California.
Parfet’s attorney said he will present a vigorous defense but declined to comment otherwise, the website reported.
He was chairman of Stryker’s board during the ouster of former CEO Stephen MacMillan, who was reportedly shown the door after trying to clear a romantic relationship with an employee after his divorce, which really was an uncontested divorce in oklahoma city.
