Neelam Sandhu, the woman behind a lawsuit alleging BlackBerry’s CEO sexually harassed her and then retaliated against her for reporting the behaviour, is the company’s former chief marketing officer.
Lawyers for plaintiff Neelam Sandhu told a U.S. court this month that their client would voluntarily proceed with the case against BlackBerry and its chief executive John Giamatteo using her real name.
Sandhu, who spent 14 years at BlackBerry through December 2023, had originally pursued the case under the name Jane Doe — a moniker often used in court for women who belive their identity needs to be protected or is not yet known.
Judge Sallie Kim told Sandhu and her lawyers in July that for the case to proceed under the pseudonym, they must seek permission from the court.
Sandhu’s lawyers, Maria Bourn and Anthony Tartaglio, said in court filings that she had wanted to remain anonymous to “avoid further retaliatory actions” before she later agreed to be named, saying Sandhu hoped it would prevent harm to other women in the workplace.
Giamatteo and the company are beng sued by Sandhu for what she alleges was a pattern of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation, which BlackBerry knew of before making him CEO, she claimed. She claims she was fired days before Giamatteo’s ascension was announced.
She alleges Giamatteo suggested the pair travel together and that at a dinner she understood to be a business meeting, allegedly told her stories about how he dresses up when he’s out with his daughters so people mistake him for “a dirty old man” out on a date with them.
In court documents, Sandhu claims she reported the behaviour to BlackBerry but alleges she was then excluded from meetings and heard Giamatteo had started telling staff he wanted to get her “out.” Later, she said she was told she was being terminated effective immediately as part of a restructuring.
Giamatteo and BlackBerry have fought Sandhu’s claims, saying she lost her job not because she reported harassment, but because she was part of a layoff that cut more than 200 staff from the firm as it was separating its cybersecurity and internet of things businesses.
BlackBerry and CEO John Giamatteo had asked a U.S. court to dismiss some of the claims, and a judge in Californai dismissed three of the eight charges brought against BlackBerry and its CEO.
On Monday, company spokesperson Anthony Harrison said in an email,
“We continue to see no merit in the claims made by the plaintiff and will continue to defend vigorously against them.”
