Many months after his resignation, Brett Harrison, the former president of FTX.US, reveals the real reasons that led to his departure. Between threats, manipulations and sidelining, these revelations come back on the work atmosphere that reigned in the company, as well as the ambiguous personality of Sam Bankman-Fried.
Ex-president of FTX.US explains reasons for resignation
Last September, we wrote about the resignation of Brett Harrison, the former president of FTX.US. At that time, we had no idea what was to come, and he came back on Saturday to explain the real reasons behind his departure:
Many have asked questions about my time at FTX US and why I left when I did. As I indicated earlier this week, I’m happy to begin sharing my experiences and perspective publicly.
– Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) January 14, 2023
He admits that behind the scenes, his relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and his associates had reached “a point of total deterioration, after months of disputes over management practices at FTX”.
However, the early days had been quite good, and Brett Harrison explains that he had fond memories of SBF, with whom he had worked at Jane Street Capital. When his former colleague offered him a job, initially by text message, he was attracted by the vision. He admits that his first few months at FTX.US “were wonderful” and that he had a lot of independence to develop FTX.US.
However, relations between the two men began to sour when Brett Harrison argued for a split between FTX and FTX.US. Harrison regularly remarked that “decisions impacting on the US were coming, without warning, from the Bahamas”, although SBF seemed to have little involvement in US affairs:
15/49 Six months into my time at the company, pronounced cracks began to form in my own relationship with Sam. Around then I began advocating strongly for establishing separation and independence for the executive, legal, and developer teams of FTX US, and Sam disagreed.
– Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) January 14, 2023
Threats and manipulations
In his long thread, Brett Harrison also returns to the mental health of his former employer, seeing it as a clue to the “volatility of his temperament”:
18/49 Like many of us, I have family and friends who live with addiction and mental health problems, and I’ve seen how these problems often manifest without much warning in early adulthood. I thought that might be a contributing factor, and initially felt sympathetic.
– Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) January 14, 2023
The former president of FTX.US says he was not the only one to have difficulties with his superiors. And for good reason, “several experienced people” in areas such as finance and legal often had their judgement questioned, and he concedes that it was difficult to “stand up to an insecure and prideful manager”.
Brett Harrison reports that over the months, he was manipulated or given backlash, and eventually sidelined:
27/49 It felt terrible. I sought out information about decisions that had been made behind my back, desperate but trying hard not to show it.
– Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) January 14, 2023
In April 2022, as the former president of FTX.US was increasingly considering resignation, he chose to formally complain in writing about working conditions. In response, he explained that he had received threats on behalf of Sam Bankman-Fried, claiming that Bankman-Fried would “destroy [his] professional reputation” if the writings were not officially withdrawn and an apology, which had been written on his behalf, was not forthcoming.
Following this, Brett Harrison explained that he had completed his current cases and was looking to his own future. He also maintains that he and the other FTX.US executives knew nothing about the financial crimes surrounding FTX:
38/49 If any one of us had suspected let alone learned the truth, we would have reported them immediately.
– Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) January 14, 2023
In spite of everything, Brett Harrison comes back to the pressure on social networks, for example, likening it to the FTX scandal, but reminding us that he is not being sued.
