US businessman under fire for overspending, including 30 first-class flights, Swiss Chalet

The 52-year-old’s spending habits also worried the company’s former financial director.

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis Faces Criticism After Shocking Incident New York Timesthe report found she had been spending lavishly, including buying a $22,000 first-class ticket to Cannes Lions and renovating her home office with money from an LGBTQ nonprofit.

The investigation, which examined payments between January 2022 and June 2023, found that Ellis’s spending habits may have violated Internal Revenue Service regulations, in addition to those of LGBTQ organizations. The 52-year-old’s spending habits also raised concerns about the company’s former chief financial officer.

According to the NYT, GLAAD’s internal travel guidelines recommended that employees “watch their costs,” use public transportation, and book economy flights. But after examining GLAAD’s expense reports, employment contracts, tax returns, and additional documentation, the outlet discovered that the CEO took more than 30 first-class flights over a year and a half (including a $21,743 Delta One trip to Cannes Lions), spent nearly half a million dollars to rent a seven-bedroom cottage in Switzerland for a week while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, and used private transportation services. In addition, her renewed contract included a $25,000 rental for her summer home in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and a $20,000 remodel of her home office, which included bone pillows and a chandelier.

A GLAAD spokesperson told the NYT that the renovation made the area “suitable” for virtual events and television appearances. All of these costs were in addition to Ellis’s $441,000 annual salary. However, due to numerous bonuses, his actual salary could be anywhere from $700,000 to $1.3 million. Richard Ferraro, a GLAAD spokesman, told the outlet that GLAAD “is ​​eager to retain” her in light of her achievement, and that reaching the latter amount would be “virtually impossible.”

In 2023, GLAAD’s then-CFO, Emily Plauche, warned Liz Jenkins, the company’s chairwoman, that the money was not being properly disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service. But the organization changed its travel policies after a law firm investigated her concerns.

GLAAD supported the expense, with the board’s chairman saying the board “strongly supports” Ellis. They said the renovations to the home were done for her on-camera appearances and virtual events during the Covid-19 pandemic and were approved by the board. Meanwhile, renting the summer home was a business expense for meetings with donors.

The spokesperson also highlighted GLAAD’s criticism of the NYT, saying the newspaper published “inaccurate, biased coverage of transgender people” during its year-long campaign. In its report, the NYT acknowledged that criticism and acknowledged the quality of its work.

The chairwoman said she was endorsing Ellis “out of respect and appreciation for how she and her team are leading the movement at a time when our community is under attack. We have full confidence that they are doing so with integrity and that they share the board’s commitment to undeniably strong governance and business practices.”

Ellis added, “I take my role as GLAAD’s financial steward very seriously, and we will continue to update our processes to keep up with the organization’s rapid growth.”