Israeli open engagement platform unicorn OpenWeb CEO and cofounder Nadav Shoval has won a temporary victory in the Tel Aviv District Economic Court, which has ordered the suspension of his dismissal until a court discussion on the matter by both parties at the end of the month. Shoval is in dispute with several investors led by Insight Partners and Georgian.
While Shoval interprets the judge's ruling as if his dismissal has been frozen, the company sees it as a technical act of suspending completion of his dismissal, which is already underway. OpenWeb fired Shoval on September 9 and on the same day appointed Tim Harvey, a former company director, to replace him as CEO.
While Shoval saw the meeting held last week as one that once again put his dismissal on the agenda, in practice the act of ratifying the dismissal was carried out despite the claims he made.
Even if the company does not intend to return Shoval to his position following the judge's ruling, they cannot complete processes involving his dismissal, such as matters related to his compensation package and options.
OpenWeb asked for an extension due to the holidays, and Judge Ariel Zimmerman agreed to its request, provided "It does not take unilateral and irreversible actions before the hearing, including firing Shuval." Therefore, Shoval's dismissal was frozen at least until the hearing of his request for an injunction against the firing.
Shoval claims the dismissal is unlawful
Shoval had served as OpenWeb's CEO since its founding in 2012 until last month when he was replaced by Harvey. He protested the decision in an email to employees. Shoval's access to the company's offices and its data systems was blocked. Shoval sees all these actions as unlawful because the board of directors was illegally convened to make the decision, he claims.
Following the court ruling and Shoval's defense, the company's board of directors reconvened and voted to oust Shoval for a second time.
No response has been forthcoming from OpenWeb.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 13, 2024.
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